Alleviation
by camteaa
Summary: NEW CHAPTER 11! EDITED.Hinata. Itachi. This is the account of her dark transformation and break away from innocence to side with a world of terror and nightmares. This is not a dream. You will not wake up.
1. Latent Hatred

Title: Alleviation.

Summary: Hinata. Itachi. The account of her dark transformation and break away from innocence to side with a world of terror and nightmares. This is not a dream. You will not wake up. AU; Side-fic to Angel of Mine.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Notes: This is my first really deep fic. It has to do with Hinata and Itachi. It can be read as a side fic or as an individual one. It really doesn't matter to me. Thanks for everyone who has reviewed and supported me! Enjoy!

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_Something was missing. I wasn't all there. I didn't know why I was alive. All I got...was pain. It hurt. I'm know I'm breaking. I can feel it. I can feel my heart cracking. I'm dying, and I know it. I'm not sick, I'm not ill...No. I'm dying. Dying on the inside. I can't take it anymore. _

_I just-I just...want to let it go._

_I want to let it go. I want to let it all go. I'm desperate to get out. I'm trapped. My metal cage of despair. The arrogant, ruthless gatekeepers mock my every move, taunting me like no other. _

_Family?_

_Let me out._

_Please let me out._

_Please..._

_I..._

_I can't breathe._

_---_

Chapter 1: Latent Hatred.

Down she went.

Into slick, dark mud she fell. It coated her entire body, from her hair roots to her bare feet. She coughed and spat, her ghostly skin now stained a dark, disgusting color.

'I'm filthy.' she thought, as she lay in the mud, waiting for any opportune moment to get up...but when would it come?

Rain drizzled down in a fine, irritating mist, making the young once purple haired girl clench the mud in dispair, making it squish through her fingers. Hinata was mildly annoyed. Why couldn't she keep up? Why couldn't she _ever_ keep up? Questions upon disturbing questions played in her mind, torturing Hinata's mind like a broken record.

It had only been three since their departure. Three days since her betrayel to Konoha...Three days of being with the man who had rescued her from the torture of her oh so illustrious clan. Their pride had been their downfall. Itachi had shown them that.

The silent Uchiha.

Had it only been just _three _days?

'Jerk.' Hinata thought, galled, the word unknowingly coming into her normally forgiving mind.

Her closed eyes held the very picture of anger and frustration. Her hands couldn't get any whiter and her annoyance couldn't run any deeper. It just hurt to breathe...to take in something that would make you live. She couldn't just lay there...But there was a big difference between knowing what you have to do and actually doing it.

As she lay on the ground...she began to think.

This wasn't the Itachi she had known when she was younger. He was rough. Cold. Uncaring. A...a cold hearted bastard. This was definitely NOT what she expected.

He left her all alone for long periods of time, and she never knew when he would come back. She would be overcome with panic and fear of desertion but then he'd suddenly appear, chuckling darkly. He liked to play games with her head, who had expected so much more from going with him. This caused anxiety and confusion.

He left her to find her own food. He wouldn't stop for her, talk to her or even show any sort of affection for her. They hadn't spoken since the night he had come for her.

Whenever she was hurt, he wouldn't care. She was in charge of herself. He didn't heal her or pull out any antidotes for her many cuts and bruises. He hadn't helped her since that night he had healed her family inflicted wounds.

"What are you doing there, lying on the ground like some useless thing?"

He had also taken to insulting her.

'Wonderful.'

Hinata's eyes opened. There was a spark in them. Her annoyance began to grow.

An unknown emotion began to flood her body. It crawled under her skin, made her blood hot, rose into her chest and took over her mind.

It clawed for control.

'Why are you doing this to me?'

She looked up to meet his gaze but quickly looked away, out of humiliation and outright fury. The new emotion continued to spread.

_A disease._

'Why do you act like you hate me?'

"Get up. I'm not going to wait." he said coldly, watching her struggle.

She slowly picked herself up, well aware of the bite from two new cuts and the fresh batch of bruises she had acquired.

Mud and pieces of grass dripped off her clothes and she felt so weak and vulnerable that she began to get angry with herself. It wasn't a self-hatred...it was more out of disappointment. She had made a fool out of herself.

Itachi frowned darkly and vaulted onto a branch so suddenly that Hinata fell back and nearly went back into the soft earth. She saved herself by clinging to a tree.

"Hurry up." he said shortly and vanished into shadow.

"Wait!" she pleaded quietly, and, despite her injuries, hurried to follow him.

She was surprised to find him waiting for her around the next bend. She was about to stutter out a word of thanks when he muttered,

"Pathetic."

Her eyes widened and finally all of her pent up frustration burst. He had crossed her line.

Actions speak louder then words.

With a small shriek of frustration, Hinata scraped off some of the mud an threw it at her Mentor.

Protector.

_Tormentor_.

Itachi dodged it with ease and was by her side in a flash. She trembled with fear and frustration.

"Stop." he hissed. He laid a hand on her raised arm and brought it down forcefully. He knew she would give up.

Hinata _always _gave up.

She quivered before feeling the embarrassing sting of tears in the corners of her eyes. She began to stumble over her apologies.

"G-g-omena-"

"This is what you wanted right? Are you going to back out now?" Itachi murmured coldly in her ear.

Hinata stayed silent, trembling from fear and humiliation.

"What do you want from me, Hinata?" he sighed.

"I-I thought-"

"What? That it's all fun and games? That it's a game to kill someone?"

_Ring around the rosie._

Hinata looked away. Would she ever find her place? If she couldn't feel free with Itachi then where-

"I'm an assassin, Hinata. I kill for a living."

His words stung sharply and she felt a shiver go down her spine. Tears and sweat collected on her brow and trickled into the corners of her eyes, down her cheeks, curving under until the would drop. A silver tear fell onto the branch she stood on.

"I'm not playing around."

_Pockets full of posy._

The girl's head began to spin and whirl with anger, sadness and helplessness. She knew all she had been was a useless burden. Itachi turned from her and left her to her own, sad thoughts.

'I'm losing it.' she thought.

_Ashes._

Hinata stared at the mossy tree branch, emotionlessly. Suddenly, she looked at her hands. Where did the mud go? Why-Why were her pale muddy hands now so _red_?

So wet...so slick...so...toxic?

Was this what she would feel eventually? Was this the product of learning from Itachi? Would she eventually kill someone? To kill out of hatred and revenge?

"No." she whispered.

Hinata shut her eyes and shook her head.

**_Ashes._**

When she re-opened her eyes. She realized her mind was playing dirty tricks on her and there was no blood on her hands. Only the filth of mud and the dead, sour grass.

She started as the branch above her cracked. She sprinted twice as hard to keep up with the killer. Her eyes were wide with fright and she still quivered like a blade of grass in a cold wind. So fragile and small...

Hinata stiffened when she remembered his words.

'I'm an assassin. I kill for a living.'

"Itachi-sensei..." her voice came out hoarse.

Hinata closed her eyes and plunged into the ethereal world of phantoms and monsters.

_They all fall down._

---

_Latent: Present but not visible, existing as potential._

_Hatred: the feeling of extreme hostility._

---

Sweets: Thanks for reading! Please review!


	2. Abhorrence

Notes: Yay angst and horror! There is no explination about this work so if you _must_ complain, then send my an e-mail. OR better yet, just tell it straight to my muse, Hades and Raphael. Thank you.

Warning: If this is not your cup of tea, and you want something lighter, go visit Summer Chaos. But thanks for reading, anyway.

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Chapter 2: Abhorrence

Hinata mutely noted, with some disgust, that she was becoming nothing more then a trial and encumbrance to Itachi. She needed to stop. They had been sprinting for over a course of five days. She didn't want to admit it, but she was worn out. They hadn't had any stops since her little tumble into the mud two days ago and a few breaks for food or a drop of water.

The dirt was still caked on, clinging to every inch of her skin and making her whole body feel dry and cracked. Never in her life had she felt so...defiled. Ugly, even.

She cringed when she heard the branches snap threateningly in the cold wind. It was the middle of summer, now, but soon it would be autumn. It would be getting colder...much colder.

Hinata realized that she might have to fend for herself, all alone in this wilderness. She would have to be independent. There was the option of returning to Konoha, but she knew she would be better off here then there, facing the wrath of her bipolar father.

How lonely this journey was turning out to be!

Itachi was silent, unless insulting her, and he was quick and dark as a shadow. It was hard to keep up with him, even in the daylight.

So many questions ran through her mind.

'Where are you, Itachi-sensei?'

'What happened?'

'Where are we going?'

'Are you mad at me...do you _hate_ me, now?'

Hinata, once regaining her breath, took off again. Her legs burned from the agony of running so hard, and her lungs felt like they would burst. It wasn't **fair. **

"Why?" she whispered to herself.

The sun danced among the trees, the cold wind had disappeared, giving her a false sense of safety. She was never safe. So why had she gone with him? He had been so nice! So forgiving...so...

'Loving?' her mind answered.

The emotion that had controlled her body for a short time had receded into the back of her mind, but it crept out again. It burned her blood and made her grit her teeth with the anger of defeat.

She whimpered as she abruptly felt searing pain rush up her leg in a sharp spasm. Her eyes burned with unshed tears.

Hot tears of pain and anger.

How had things come to this? He was supposed to protect her! Not leave her to die in some god forsaken forest!

But wait...

Was he testing her?

Hinata's mind began to tumble over new found questions. Was he really doing this to test her?

To _help_ her?

Or was this to kill her?

It felt like it.

Itachi...Itachi...Itachi...

'What happened to you...?' Hinata thought, fear rising into her mind.

What would she become?

Itachi watched her from the top of the trees, feeling the burden of outright disappointment. She wasn't keeping up. She was being a worthless hindrance. She was slowing him down. If the Konoha ANBU caught up with them...she was on her own.

'You're letting me down, Hinata.' he thought to himself.

He watched as Hinata took off again, and saw her visibly shudder with pain. He sighed.

'You can't keep up. Why the hell did I put a bond between us. Why did I mark you?' he clenched his teeth as he leaped from branch to branch, easily keeping a steady speed with his new play toy.

'Because you loved her.' his mind answered simply.

Itachi never faltered in his step, but he stiffened. Seeing her again...yes he had been happy. She was still his bit of light, but he was a lot colder now. Why did he need light? It was safer to hide in the dark. He liked the dark. He was a murderer.

'A demon.'

"She's so quiet." he muttered.

He thought back to when she flung mud at him. He noted it was a weak attempt, but he had also seen something flash in his eyes.

That emotion... Was it a possibility? Of what? Anger? Hatred...

"Yes..." he hissed to himself.

He would continue to test her. After all, he was excited. She was proving to be a very interesting pupil.

He suddenly remembered that Hinata needed to catch up with him. He doubled his speed and left her behind until she could see him again.

_Catch me if you can._

Kisame Hoshigaki leaned against an oak in a rather lazy manner. He was re-wrapping the bandages on the Samehada, for it had just eaten fresh chakra. It was also a good way to take out his pent up frustration of being left behind in the forest while his mysterious partner went to fetch his 'person'.

Kisame laughed, recalling how he had killed his last victim.

Ah, that beautiful taste of chakra and blood.

Sweet, satisfying, free.

At the moment, the shark demon had no price to pay for all of his current bloodshed. Back home...the other massacres were another story. He was free from all bonds, yes, but his home hung over his head like an ax.

He sighed.

All of a sudden, Itachi appeared in front of him, cold and smug. Behind him was a girl, gasping for oxygen and much needed rest.

Pathetic and unexpected.

Kisame stopped in mid-wrap. He eyed the muddy purple haired girl, then Itachi and then his eyes traveled back to the girl.

"No." was his first answer to an unvoiced statement, but silently implied.

"Yes." Itachi said in a bored tone with a hint of defiance.

Kisame growled and Hinata shrank back, her eyes wandering everywhere but onto his face. The shark man smirked when he saw her eyes travel over to a bloody mass of blood, muscles, tissues, bones and organs.

His last victim.

Hinata bit her lip so hard it bled. She felt drop after drop of blood fall onto her hands. They were curled up between her chest and her breath came out in a ragged puffs.

_All that blood._

Hinata found it impossible to tear her eyes away from the sanguine fluids. It frightened her...yet she found it odd.

It was her first encounter with a dead, bloody...thing. It couldn't even be called a _body_ anymore. It was just a pile of torn muscles and cream colored bones.

Hinata found herself edging closer to it. The smell was unbearable. She could feel heat coming off of it. She was so disgusted.

She could see the blue cloth and silver glint of a hitai-ate.

So this person was a ninja...

Hinata was never so _curious_.

How strange and foreign this pile of mystery was...who was he? What did he do? Did he have...a family?

A loving family?

_There's something I wanted..._

Hinata stopped and stared at it, enthralled.

_Something I needed to experience._

Step.

_Someone to love me._

Step.

_A family who would smile at me. With love._

Step.

_That's all I wanted...That, and nothing else._

Itachi broke his glare from Kisame and followed his gaze to see Hinata standing before a gruesome pile of...what was once a body.

"You killed freshly? So far from civilization?" he asked, indifferent.

"You'd be surprised on what young people you can find out here. This one was barely her age." Kisame gave a hollow laugh and nodded in Hinata's direction.

Itachi saw Hinata stiffen and take a step back, horrified. Her brow furrowed in an unknown sadness and horror.

_It was a child. This was once a child...like me._

Hinata began to cry silently.

_They can kill children?_

She let the tears spill out because if she didn't cry over this shredded body, who, in this wilderness, would?

She turned to face Itachi who stared back at her with empty red eyes. He saw her tears and something hit his very heart. He began to experience the pain she was feeling.

He cringed.

This was intense, even for him. Hinata's emotions flowed through every cell in his body and it was a lot to take in. She was feeling an unbearable sorrow, disappointment, exhaustion...anger.

The smallest hint of anger.

Itachi knew this was what she had to feed on if she was ever to become one of them.

Finally, he felt relief from the pain. Hinata collapsed in front of the child's destroyed body. Itachi turned to Kisame who looked at the girl with curious and suspicious eyes.

"Leave her be. She is no use to us." he muttered and shot up onto a tree branch.

Itachi walked over to her and stared down at her pale, muddy features. She was filthy in body, but not in her soul. He was clean, but his soul was not. How strangely ironic...

He glared at the shredded body of what was once a child as if had been the cause of all the trouble, and picked up Hinata. She groaned in his arms but did not regain consciousness. Itachi held her close and was well aware that Kisame was watching him with cold, uncaring eyes.

"Set her down, Uchiha. She is not wanted."

"She is. She will be of use to us." he murmured and turned to walk away.

Suddenly, while cradling Hinata with one arm, he lifted his other, and silently buried Kisame's last victim that had caused Hinata so much horror and curiosity.

A tempting, isolated grave.

The joys of blood and bone.

---

Notes: It's a longer chapter, I think. I'll try to make them longer, so for now, remember patience is a virtue! evil grin Review or whatever.


	3. Nightmares and Dreamscapes

Alleviation

Notes: Ok. A longish chapter. Yay! Anyway, Thank you to **MissShannell, darkangel211101, brokenAngel89, Meibou, Schural, and Kitsune onna no Rai** for reviewing! And thank you to all the have read and will hopefully continue to read!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

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Chapter 3: Nightmares and Dreamscapes

The girl did not wake up to sunlight. Instead, she awoke to more dirt and grass. Her head was against a tree trunk, a small bed roll under her dirty form. She smelled smoke.

Her eyes were fully open now and she shot up. Itachi's crimson eyes were visible through the opening dawn. Kisame's silent form was next to him.

"Go back to sleep." he ordered quietly.

Hinata stayed where she was, her eyes wide and frightened. His eyes turned from red to black. He looked at her. She couldn't tear her gaze away.

Hinata's mother always told her that if you looked deep enough, you could see a person's soul. Itachi's soul was something she did **not** want to look at. It would ruin her vision of him.

He was her savior. Her hope...and right now, her everything. Hinata practically worshiped him. He had saved her from her family.

Hinata wanted to break the gaze...but there was something in that black obsidian that held her.

He beckoned to her.

"Come here." he said, almost silently.

She obediently went to him. She crawled on her hands and knees, because her legs were numb and overworked. Hinata didn't know what to expect from him. She was scared.

For the first time in her life...she was actually scared of him. Her idol was...frightening.

Hinata felt the feeling of surprise creep up into her as Itachi gathered her into his arms and began to rock her gently. His motions were slow, yet it was as if he didn't know what he was doing.

Silence. A silent conversation was taking place between them as Itachi continued to move her to and fro in his arms.

_Don't trust me, Hinata._

Why?

_Just because._

But I do. I **do** trust you.

_You shouldn't. I'm not the same as I once was._

What do you mean?

_I shouldn't have taken you in the first place._

Don't say that. Please...don't say that.

_You won't be accepted. You won't like my lifestyle._

You don't know that.

_You aren't a demon. You aren't a murderer._

I know.

_Leave._

No. I can't.

Itachi pushed her out of his arms and stared at her. Hinata looked at him shyly from behind her lashes. He broke the gaze and rolled over to catch up on a few hour's sleep.

So many unanswered questions.

How irritating.

It was unusual to see the three figures in that town. The sleepy town was not unlike Konoha in many senses. For one, it had many trees and shops. The people were the same. Optimistic and naive. Oh so naive.

It was nighttime when Kisame and Itachi wandered in, mystery and fog surrounding them. Hinata was concealed in Itachi's black and red cloak. She felt like she was suffocating, but she knew better then to tell that to the man who was protecting her.

She knew better.

The Byakugan was a prized tool in all of the nations. If people saw her, an _unmarked_ Hyuuga, it would just cause problems for all of them. Kisame was still all for ditching her, but Itachi told him bluntly that she was in too deep and would probably die on her own.

Hinata was grateful for a short time being, but felt deeply wounded.

So much for love.

With her Byakugan activated, Hinata took in the surroundings of the town. She felt a stab in her heart when she saw the children playing and laughing. Her mind began to drift back to her home.

'What are you all doing now that I'm gone?' she thought, pained.

Hinata now just began to think of the consequences of her actions. Her poor mother. Hanabi...she would now have to deal with the pressure of the title. Neji. Her heart began to ache.

_I'm sorry._

Bitterness clouded her mind and she felt the unwanted emotion come into view again. She **knew** she made the right choice. She had freed herself. She had done this for herself. And nothing and no one would take that away from her.

Always...she did things for other people. It was her time to be selfish. This was what she wanted. Her liberation from the family that tormented and dragged her down.

Liberation. How sweet was the word.

_This is my salvation._

Night had settled on the sleeping village. Mist rolled in and touched the walls of the houses, and twisted over the whole area. It was a beautiful coverup. They entered a small, quiet building that was dark and broken. It was pushed to the wayside and not looked at. The perfect hiding spot.

Itachi withdrew his cloak and walked off silently, as Hinata slowly took in her new surroundings. Such a strange and forgotten place...

She was in a small abandoned building. Rust and dirt covered the once white walls and there was dust everywhere. The wood floors had a thin layer of grim and filth all over them. The remains and stench of the carcasses and skeletons of dead animals filled the air. Hinata would have usually shrunk away from these kind of buildings, but she didn't quite care anymore.

It seemed to be an old apartment building. Abandoned and left to rot. No one cared much about this building anymore. It was just _there_, like an afterthought that just didn't work out. Maybe that's why Itachi and Kisame chose it. No one bothered to look at it anymore.

In a lot of ways, the building was like Hinata. It had once used to have been white, but now rust and dirt covered it. The young, frightened girl was so innocent, but now she felt like a criminal, running away from home. She was filthy, physically, and her soul was stained.

She had always been 'just there' when she was in the Hyuuga compound. She was the afterthought of the house. No one cared about her anymore. No one really looked at her.

Hinata was a disgrace.

Tiredly, she looked at her dirty hands, all the while thinking that this was just a dream. Everything...was a bad dream. She would soon wake up, four years old, and _loved_. Her mother would be alive...her father would dote on her, Neji would hug her...no little sister to worry about.

_It's all their fault._

Once again, Hinata began to seethe with an unknown fury. Her hands curled into fists and her blood was hot.

_I hate them._

"Hey. You. Thing."

What a wonderful way for Kisame to call her.

Hinata slowly turned. Anger still painted her features and Kisame looked at her curiously. He could feel the hatred radiating off of her, but it was not meant for him.

'She holds _some _potential. Even if she is a weakling.' he begrudgingly began to admit to himself.

Hatred, afterall, was, and always had been, the first step towards the underworld of the Akatsuki.

"Yes?" she asked through grit teeth.

"Get over here." he beckoned and began to walk away.

Hinata scrambled up and regained enough balance and composure to follow the demon.

Suddenly, as if breaking from a trance, the girl unclenched her fists and opened her eyes. She breathed in deeply, trying to figure out why she was acting this way. The person she was didn't dwell in anger or self-pity.

_What's happened to me?_

Hinata almost sank to the ground, mentally exhausted. She forced herself to keep moving. She didn't need Kisame to give her a hard time about following him. She needed to prove to him...she needed to prove to everybody...she was something.

_I'm nothing._

White, milky eyes began to well up with tears from physical pain and she felt an unbearable sadness.

Her mind flashed to when she was younger. When Itachi was, well, _Itachi_. He was kinder, somewhat emotional...loving.

She wished to go back when Neji would hug her and tuck her into bed, not beat her senseless, his mind full of hatred over something she couldn't control at the time.

When her father would pick her up and swing her high, not have bipolar disorder in all of the literal senses.

When her mother...she sweet, gentle mother was still alive...still whole and healthy, not six feet closer to Hell.

When Hanabi would ask if they could buy ice cream and flowers for mother. When she would actually care about her older sister, not order her around.

As Hinata followed Kisame, her mind was turning. She shuddered. Kisame was just about as frightening as Itachi. But Itachi's silence scared her even more. When someone was silent...you couldn't tell what they're thinking. It was even more frightening that Itachi was expressionless.

She was a simple girl.

The two assassins were not simple. They were complex; hard to understand. Their reasoning at first seemed rather strange, but their plans...they way they moved...they way they carried themselves.

Yes, these people, these _humans_, were superior to the rest. They were once young...but had plunged into the darkness of the world without regret or looking back.

_No regrets. That's what I want._

Kisame came to a sudden stop and Hinata knocked her head into his side. The shadows of his cloak were ominous, but the look of pure disgust and hatred on his dark face was more then enough to send her reeling and running all the way back to Konoha.

He wasn't looking at her, though. He was staring at _something,_ a figure crouched on the window sill. A sliver of his body could been seen in the moonlight. A body with a long, almost scorpion tail at the back. His face was in shadow, yet there was an outline of another Akatsuki cloak. There was a gleam of red, the small 'click' of gears as the shadow moved.

Kisame put his hand on the Samehada. If anyone hurt Hinata, _he_ would be the one getting cursed and killed from a very enraged Itachi. So he pushed the startled girl back to the wall and grinned, bearing all of his teeth.

"Long time no see." he said, jovially.

"Yes." the figure nodded with passive acknowledgment.

"What brings you to us?" the shark man asked, his misleading smirk resting easy on his navy face.

"Oh, nothing. We were just on a mission and we thought," the figure's eyes turned toward her. "-we would stop by."

Gold clashed with white. Hinata began to back up slowly, her pearly eyes wide with fright.

_There are more of them...?_

"Boo."

Hinata screamed as another figure descended from the ceiling and gripped her around her waist. The new figure spun her around and she found herself suffocating against the figure whose grip was around her waist and neck.

"Shall I snap her pretty little neck?" a voice hissed. "Or can I slit her throat, yeah?"

She didn't want to look up. She felt herself trembling,and she hated herself for it. However, this wasn't the time to be scolding herself on her weakness. The figure who held her began to laugh mockingly. The grip tightened.

_I can't breathe!_

"Stop screwing around and let her go." Hinata heard Kisame growl, annoyed.

She suddenly began to appreciate him a little more. Just a little.

"It's just a dream. It's just a dream..." Hinata whispered hoarsly, willing all of them away.

_Why aren't they leaving?!_

"Go away...go away!" she whimpered as she felt the grip tighten.

Hinata could feel cold hands working their way up and down her body. The same voice on the window sill ordered,

"You've had your kill, Deidara. Let her go."

Still the hands did not release her. Why did Hinata feel like the person's palms were _moving_? She began to cry from horror.

"I'm dreaming! I'm dreaming!" she screamed hysterically and fought vainly against her captor.

All of a sudden, Kisame approached the two and hit the girl hard on the back of the head. Hinata plunged into the welcoming darkness.

A nightmare began.

---

SweetStealer: Thank for reading! Review!


	4. Rupture

SweetStealer: YAY! New chapter! I can't believe I've spent most of my time on this fic. sweatdropx10000

Itachi: Lighten up, already.

Sweets: Ok. I'm already on like...my ninth chapter, which makes me wonder why the hell I'm not posting more...

Hinata: She doesn't own Naruto.

Notes: Deidara is a guy in this fic. Sasori is not the hunchback, but in his human form. Everyone might be slightly Ooc in the future. GOMEN! Enjoy!

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**Chapter 4: The Rupture **

"So Itachi-senpai just picked her up, hnn?"

It was cold. The wind whistled through an open window above a motionless figure whose body played hide and seek with the shadow and moonlight. The room was ominously dark. Outside, it was a cold clear night. No one was out and the wind swept over a seemingly empty building that creaked and moaned with every gust of air.

Hinata groaned and tried to curl into a tighter ball. Her head hurt and she kept her eyes closed, yet activated her bloodline gift.

She had been tossed to the side, like a rag doll, while Kisame and the two unknown figures were huddled around a small lantern which spread light around the room with what little pathetic rays it had.

The two new figures were not facing her and she couldn't see their faces. She kept as still as possible, straining to hear more of the conversation that was apparently caused by her. How strange. In the Hyuuga household, everyone wanted to avoid her and ignore her...but now...Now she was talked about a lot. The very center of the unwanted attention.

"She's quite pretty. A Hyuuga if I'm not mistaken."

_It's that voice from the window ledge._

Hinata began to shiver from his remark. She didn't like it at all. The voice was deep, soothing and almost...parental. But it still had a hidden edge to it. A cautious one, yet very indifferent and uncaring.

"She's an _unmarked_ Hyuuga. She must be worth a lot, yeah? Does Itachi-senpai plan to sell her?"

Hinata closed her eyes and bit back a retort in defense for not only herself, but for Itachi.

"You're starting to sound like Kakuzu." Kisame snapped.

_Who's Kakuzu?_

Hinata felt a pair of eyes travel over to her. She cringed as she heard someone get up and walk over to her. The swish of the black and red clouded cloak sent shivers up her spine as she tried to make herself disappear.

_They know I'm awake._

She felt a warm hand on her shoulder. The soothing voice was talking to her!

"I'm sorry, did we scare you?"

Hinata, realizing that this was not a gruesome dream, but harsh reality, opened her pearly eyes and ventured to look up. Her vision was hazy, but that was soon corrected.

She gasped.

This man...he was handsome. Hinata began to blush, even in the dangerous situation she was in. His dark, crimson hair...his golden eyes, his soft smile. However, the tail at the back was a curious sight that made Hinata's eyes grow wide in wonder, not fear. How enrapturing! He was indeed, a beautiful sight in this rather dark room.

"Hello there." he whispered to her.

Hinata suddenly remembered that he had a companion. A companion that liked to scare the living daylights out of people. Where was he? But more importantly...where was Itachi?

Where was her protection?

She still found herself unable to break away from the man's gaze. She began to feel slightly uncomfortable with the close proximity that they were in and tried to back up against the wall.

The man frowned slightly and reached out a pale, ivory hand. Shadows danced over it, as Kisame moved the lantern closer to himself. Hinata was fully awake now and her eyes were finally able to take it all in. She stared at the man and then at his hand.

Suddenly, a kunai came whizzing past, making the red-haired man gracefully withdraw his hand. Hinata looked around. Then she saw him. The man who had surprised her.

He was as beautiful and as sleek as the crimson haired man. His blonde hair fell over his left eye, leaving a certain mystery about him. His eyes looked like a dark cerulean blue in shadow, but Hinata guessed they would be like crystal sea water in the light.

He was slender and about as pale as Itachi and the other, but there was something about him...the way he talked, the way he carried himself.

Confidence?

_Arrogance._

"Sasori-senpai, what are you doing to her?" the blonde growled, almost protectively, though he was the one choking her only a few hours before.

Hinata met his gaze shyly. He smirked at her. The red-head, Sasori, sighed and replied,

"I'm trying to make friends with her."

"It looks like you're scaring her."

This came not from the blonde or from Kisame, but from a dark figure in the shadows. Sasori remained where he was, but the blonde hastily stepped back in order to let the figure through.

"Itachi-sensei." Hinata breathed.

Itachi didn't look at her as he walked past. He cast a glance at Sasori, who was cornering Hinata, and the slender youth, who was smirking.

"What are you doing here, Sasori," he said quietly. "Deidara."

Hinata looked at the men in front of her. Four deadly, indifferent assassins.

Was it unusual was it that she, the heir to the Hyuuga Clan, a well behaved, timid little girl, was running with a pack of wolves?

Wolves that were patiently waiting to tear you to bloody shreds or sell you off for a handsome price?

_I am not worthy. I am property._

Itachi dropped two bags of money of the floor. Hundreds of coins dropped onto the ground with a tiny 'plink' and rolled off in all directions. Hinata watched the money catch and reflect the little light and roll off into the dark corners of the room.

She heard something else. It sounded like something _dripping_. Hinata stared at Itachi's hands.

_Water?_

Slowly, she shifted over to where the small pool of dark liquid had collected when Itachi had walked past her. She curiously dipped her fingers in the pool.

It was thick, red and sticky. Hesitantly, Hinata look over to where Itachi was whispering to Kisame, and her eyes found their way to his hands.

They were bathed in **blood**. It was a thick, vulgar substance that sent her back to the wall with horror and fright coating her milky eyes.

Itachi finally acknowledged her and approached her. Sasori got up, and stepped back. He watched her with cold eyes and smiled wickedly as Itachi bent down to look at her eye-to-eye.

His fingers touched her cheeks, then her chin, then her neck. That crimson ribbon was spread all of her anemic, yet dirty face. She didn't move. She didn't even _dare_ to breathe. She could taste blood, someone else's blood, on her lips. It tasted cold...metallic and-

_Sweet?_

Itachi drew lines on her cheeks, as if he was painting them.

Hinata's voice had failed her a long time ago. Her astonished, terrorized eyes were wide with absolute fear.

"It's just blood. Nothing more, nothing less."

These words made her slump down against the rusted wall and stare at him with lifeless eyes. She finally understood what the blood on her face meant, what tasting the blood meant.

There was no turning back.

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Hinata had missed the sun. After days and days of endless shadow and gloom, there came a small break in the clouds. She had spent her days watching the people pass by freely, and some had stared at her, thinking they had seen a ghost of a young girl sitting on the window ledges of the abandoned apartment building. Unknown to her, she became the talk of the town.

Hinata had been cooped up in that old abandoned building for about six days with nothing to do but watch and wait. Sasori and Deidara stuck around only in the afternoon, and Itachi and Kisame went out to kill and get food. Sometimes, Itachi didn't come back at all. This went on for six torturous days.

Six days and six nights of silence. Six days and six night of waiting. Six days and six night of wishing...and wondering.

"What's going on out there?" she whispered as she stared out into the small city.

Sighing, Hinata turned away from the window with a wistful expression on her pale face. As she curled up in a dark corner of the empty white room, she felt a pang of hunger in her stomach. Her hands felt their way to the spot and she knew she was getting weak. She growing thin with anxiety and hunger.

Yes, Itachi brought home money every now and then. Last night, the money had a dark red fluid on it and Hinata dared not to touch it.

_Assassination money._

She did not know what became of the money. There was some food, but Hinata was tortured with it. Cruelty came in many forms, especially to a hungry girl like herself.

_He's diciplining me._

Itachi order her not to eat until the rest had finished. Sasori would occasionally slip her food, since there was not a lot to eat when all four of them finished. Kisame and Deidara ate in front of her just for spite. Hinata nearly cried when she saw Itachi swallow the last of the provisions. Often, there was none left for her, save the small meager bits of bread and honey Sasori slipped her.

As the days wore on, Hinata began to lose feeling. She began to lose a lot of things.

When she pricked her finger on the razor sharp glass on the broken window, there was no sting. She did not cry when Kisame would brush past her and the Samehada would scrape her arm. Even Itachi's daunting would not make her expression change.

She became empty, almost automatic.

The only thing Hinata felt was her loyalties changing. Her admiration began to shift dramatically.

Itachi was losing her to the Scorpion of the Red Sand.

"Hinata."

Speak of the devil.

Hinata looked up, startled. She blinked her large, ivory eyes and became rigid as Sasori walked around and crouched in front of her. He surveyed her with golden eyes and then gave a weak smile. As beautiful as he was, Hinata found herself wary and cautious around him. He smiled at her too easily.

"We found a bath."

Looking down upon her wretched, filthy hands, Hinata got up slowly, even though she was eager to sink into water, be it hot or cold.

"Will you follow me?" Sasori asked, holding out his hand.

There was a hesitation. She began to reach out her hand, but she slowly withdrew it. Sasori smirked.

"Good. Don't trust us."

Hinata nearly stopped breathing. Itachi had said the same thing, not too long ago. It made her all the more inquisitive.

Sasori stood to his full height, knowing it intimidated her. Hinata shrank back into her little corner, her mind going blank.

The puppet master suddenly swooped down, gathered her up into his arms in a rather uncomfortable and odd position and carried her off. Hinata clutched at his shirt, as she was afraid of free falling onto the floor. Her dirt smeared legs dangled over his cloak and she constantly felt herself sliding.

_Get off me. Let me go._

Suddenly, she was released into the air and she landed in hot water. This was her bath. She was so surprised, she stayed underwater for too long and Sasori had to drag her back up, coughing and gagging the whole way.

"We got you new clothes, so you can get rid of those."

Sasori pointed to a corner where a pile of girl's clothing was seen, folded neatly on a wooden chair. Hinata's fingertips found their way to the edge of the bathtub and she watched as Sasori turned to leave.

Abruptly, her hand shot out of the water and grabbed the man's cloak, as water dripped down the length of her arm and down to her wrists. Sasori turned to look at her.

"A-arigato, Sasori-san." she whispered, inaudibly.

Sasori unwound her fingers from his cloak, gave an empty smile and walked off, slamming the door as he went.

Hinata sank into the bathtub and watched him leave, the lonely feeling creeping up into her chest all the while.

She began to cry.

Her heart felt like it was breaking.

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Sweets: Ooh. Oh well. Thanks for reading! Review please!


	5. Haunted

SweetStealer: ALRIGHT! I want to thank all of my reviewers especially the new ones! And **MissShannell**, it's ok about Dei. He's prolly a girl anyway.

Deidara: I HEARD THAT, YEAH.

Sweets: I don't own Naruto. Please don't kill me.

I love life.

Notes: Ok. The blood shed and killing will come soon enough. Orochimaru is in this with Kabuto and **Kimimaru**. Reminder: ALTERNATE-UNIVERSE PEOPLE!

Ahem. Thank you.

Don't forget to **_r.e.v.i.e.w_**.!

* * *

Chapter Five: Haunted

They took flight by the cover of the silver clouds as thunder rolled overhead. Lightning flashed as a warning in the distance, making Hinata shake. Goosebumps rose on her arms as a gust of cold north wind blasted her right in the body.

The clothing Itachi had given her was not the best. She was better off in her old clothes. She had been forced to used medical tape as undergarments because her old stuff was torn and bloody from weather abuse.

She was dressed in a black skort that went to the knee, a black mesh teeshirt covered her well and she had washed and worn her old white coat which had grown thin with wear over that.

Yet, she had acquired another item.

A black cloak was scattered with red clouds that looked like they held blood, not rain. A simple straw, farmer's hat was on her head and a purple polish was applied to her hands. The hat was tagless. She would earn it, in time, Itachi had told her when he handed it to her. For the first time, Hinata felt pride. The same type of pride she felt when she was presented with her hitai-ate.

Yet this was the uniform of an assassin, not a well behaved ninja.

This was the uniform of a killer.

The Akatsuki were on the prowl.

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"Please let me go with you!" Hinata cried desperately as she saw Itachi pack up and begin to leave.

"You are in no condition to move. You will only burden the mission and end up getting one or all of us killed." Itachi said, emotionlessly.

Hinata shot up from where she had been kneeling, and stumbled hurriedly over to where Itachi was walking away. Earlier that day, she had stepped on a broken branch and was not able to quite regain her balance. Her ankle was out of place and Sasori and Deidara had been forced to rescue her or let her fall to her death.

Deidara liked the latter idea.

But now she clutched wretchedly at his cloak, feeling distressed and useless. She knew he was going to leave her.

"Stay here with Deidara, Hinata." Sasori said, calmly, kneeling in front of her and stroking her hair.

"Don't touch me." Hinata hissed, turning her head sharply and taking out a kunai.

Sasori drew back abruptly, surprised at her response. Itachi watched her turn livid with anger at being left with the explosion master. He remained indifferent, though, while Kisame grinned. Deidara was also unhappy about the arrangement.

"Why should I stay with the brat, yeah?" he said, his polite voice having a razor sharp edge to it.

"We need the money. These look like rich travellers." Sasori muttered.

"She's under your protection, Deidara. If you kill her I will make you wish you had never been born." Itachi said coldly and with that, shot into the air with Kisame and Sasori following him closely. Hinata activated her Byakugan and watched them until they passed the two hundred meter mark and she had to withdraw.

Deidara unfastened his cloak and slid down the side of a tree. He examined the girl who was standing, still disappointed and fearful. The criminal smiled wickedly and was behind her in a flash.

Hinata gasped, and tried to strike at him. She gave up quite quickly when Deidara had pinned her against the hard, unforgiving bark of a tree.

"You know why Itachi-senpai left you?" Deidara taunted.

Hinata glared, unamused at being held hostage and dangling in the air, her back against the tree and the only thing holding her up was the hands of a person she disliked very much at the moment.

"It's because you're useless, yeah. He's just bringing you back so the Leader can experiment with you, yeah. So don't get any stupid ideas about being _saved._" Deidara smiled easily, giving a very superior feel to the conversation.

"So why are you stuck here with a-a useless person like me?" Hinata muttered, breathlessly.

"Don't be foolish, yeah. My art is flashy and causes too much chaos. This was a stealth assassination, yeah. There was no need for explosions this time, yeah." Deidara leaned against the tree, with his infuriating grin plastered to his face.

Hinata was slammed onto the dewy grass as Deidara let her drop a good two feet. She realized that he was _tall._ The man before her smirked.

"You know what we do on assassinations, yeah?" he whispered, darkly.

Hinata slowly raised her gaze.

"Sometimes we slit a throat, yeah. All that sticky, sweet blood comes out. It's a wonderful feeling, yeah. Sasori can rip a man's arms out of his sockets without ever touching him, himself. And Kisame will skin you alive until you're all tissue and bones, yeah..."

Hinata vaguely remembered the mass of flesh back when she had first met the terrifying shark demon. She didn't want to hear this.

"But Itachi is the worst of all, yeah...he makes it so you can't even die in _reality_. He has to slaughter you inside your _mind_. The Mangekyo Sharingan is a psychological tool that is feared. You want to know how many he's killed with-"

"Stop!" Hinata shrieked, putting her hands over her ears.

Deidara laughed.

"See what you've gotten into, my dear?" he ridiculed quietly, advancing on her.

"Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!" she screamed, her voice echoing in the woods.

"This was your choice..." Deidara said, severely, enjoying her torment.

Hinata doubled over and began to cry. Itachi wasn't supposed to have turned out like this...Where was he? Where was her savior now? A man of torment. A punisher. A murderer.

_You can never go back._

_--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

This was her last chance to turn and make a mad dash for home. Her mind screamed and wailed for her to move away from the entrance of the cave. Her feet, however, were rooted to the ground. Her eyes observed the dark opening where she couldn't see beyond three feet. There was no light, save the sunlight that danced on the rock.

"If you go in there...you can never return to Konoha." Itachi murmured, staring into the cave.

Hinata nodded, dumbly. She fumbled with the knot around her hitai-ate and finally cut it out of frustration. She unwound it slowly, forever imprinting the memory in her mind.

She clutched the hitai-ate and held the cold metal against her chest, wearily. This decision would change her life. When she was younger, the only hard decisions she thought she had to make was whether to get chocolate ice cream, or strawberry. Did she want to get married right away, or be single for a while?

And of course...did she want to be the Hyuuga heiresss and throw her life to papers and branding the Branch members like animals? Or did she want to refuse the title and see the world?

Apparently, she had chosen the second one when she had snuck out the window and taken off with Itachi. She had chosen what her life would become, the second she stepped onto that roof and met with him. There was no one to blame, but herself.

_I guess this is how I'm going to see the world._

What was this feeling?

This feeling of dread and hope?

_Is this Itachi-sensei felt when he saw this?_

Then it hit her.

They do not feel. They had let go of humanity long before. 'Feeling' meant nothing to them.

_Is this what I have to do?_

Hinata realized she had to let go of everything she held dear in order to excel here. This wasn't all fun and games, as Itachi had said before.

The girl took a step forward.

_What am I doing?_

Another shaky, uncertain step.

_Someone stop me._

Kisame and Deidara brushed past them impatiently and walked into the darkness with deliberate, even steps. They two assassins looked over their shoulders and leered at her. Their eyes were sharp and taunting.

"Are you coming in?" Kisame hissed.

They turned.

"Or will you back out?" Deidara whispered over his shoulder.

The young girl stiffened and chills raced up her spine. Nausea overcame her as she continued to watch their retreating backs. She listened faintly until she could hear them no more.

_I don't want to go in there..._

"Will you leave your title behind? Or do you want to remain in the cage all of your life?" Sasori asked, indifferently, walking towards the cave that seemed to swallow him up.

_This is suicide._

She took two steps this time, more even, more sure. Her eyes were glazed over. Itachi continued to walk behind her. She heard voices. Whispers urging her on. Whispers urging her back. They hissed in her ears, haunting her footfalls.

"Go on." Itachi said, in what was his first gentle tone.

Hinata looked at him over her shoulder. He wasn't looking at her, but looking at the cave. He looked down at her.

"No matter what awaits you inside..." he began to walk past her.

Hinata rushed to keep up with him, his strides bigger then hers.

"...I will stay by you. Angel."

Ah. His pet name for her. It hadn't been used in...it hadn't been used ever. Not since he had left all his humanity behind in the heart of a young girl. A girl he had cared for so much.

And the darkness slithered over her pale body. She looked back into the sunlight where she once stood a few moments before. Her white eyes surveying the world she knew she was leaving forever.

Hinata Hyuuga was dead forever.

In her place was a shadow, a ghost, who would never look upon daylight the same way ever again.

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Sweets: Ok, ok, ok. I know it's kind of a repetative chapter, but I was trying to like...idk...show her feelings of going into the Akatsuki lair.

Itachi: You suck at it, btw.

Sweets: IM SORRY!!!!!!!!!! But on the up side, I GOT 25 REVIEWS! Thanksyous!!!!!

Deidara: REVIEW YEAH!


	6. The Hellions

SweetStealer: Ok, now the action will start to begin.

Itachi: Finally.

Hinata: Finally.

Sasori: You're so passe.

Deidara: You're so cliche.

SweetStealer: That's kinda not pertainging to the subject but whatever. I don't own NAruto.

Notes: If you're confused in the future chapters, message me!

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Chapter 6: The Hellions

Hinata's pale faced turned ashen as she entered into the dismal cave. As the stone rolled shut behind her, she knew her fate in the Akatsuki was going to be sealed forever. Rumors of a sacrifice had reached her ears, but the words of Deidara flashed into her mind.

_Experimentation? Please...please...don't let this be true..._

Itachi pushed her on, and she managed to stay upright and force her cold feet to move deeper into the forbidding cave. Her mentor walked in front of her, keeping her in check and pulling her forward roughly whenever she tried to stop.

Down, down, down they went, never stopping, never hesitating. This was to be her new home. Away from the light, away from the people...away from Naruto.

The sudden thought about the blonde boy hit her like thousands of needles piercing her flesh.

_Painful. It's painful to think about him...them._

She shuddered and felt her blood run cold. This was insane...of all the wrong times to be thinking of him. She would never...

Itachi noticed her pause and looked behind him. He grimaced, and walked behind her and pushed her forward. She wouldn't budge, much to his annoyance.

"Hinata..." he warned.

Hinata blinked. She felt the cold metal of the hitai-ate against her pale skin. The grooves and etchings of the leaf felt rough to her touch. As she clutched the piece of metal and cloth, she began to tremble.

"It's stupid...they're stupid." she hissed to the darkness and clenched her tiny hands into fists. She kept them there until she felt blood flow.

In a flash of unreleased anger, Hinata drew out a kunai and slammed it into the wall, the metallic sound echoing into the distance. Itachi blinked and looked at the small hole she had made. This would work out **_quite _**well with him plans.

"Move." Itachi whispered, his monotone voice making her cringe away from her trance.

His soft, plae hands came up to her own and he gently pried her fingers away from the kunai. He dislodged the kunai from the stone, threw it back to her and entwined his fingers with hers. Hinata blinked as she fell back to earth.

_He's holding my hand._

"Let's go." he whispered, pulling her gently before letting go.

Hinata willed her feet to move on, without the memory of Naruto and her friends. They were all dead as far as she was concerned.

"So this is the new recruit, eh, Itachi?"

A man, clothed in black, his eyes gleaming in the darkness, approached them. He held a scythe with three, razor sharp blades in his left hand. In his other, was a long strand of what looked like prayer beads. His skin was as pale as hers and his height was intimidating.

Hinata stared into his eyes.

In a flash of light, his blades were against her face and she felt three smooth, even, yet shallow, cuts tainting her once white cheek.

"My name is Hidan. Don't forget it."

Hinata decided never to take his word and never forget him.

_Hidan. The Pious Reaper._

* * *

A man, hunched over and leering, appreared behind Hidan. His hair was slicked back and was the color of coal. His eyes were as dark as his hair, though they seemed to stand out against his pale face which was covered by a black bandana.

Thread...a long black one hung from his body. The horrified girl began to understand and she clutched at Itachi's cloak.

"Itachi..." the man hissed, reaching out quickly and swiping blood from Hinata's cheek.

Itachi neither looked him directly in the eyes or let his hand waver from Hinata's trembling shoulder. The man observed her and examined her body with lecherous and greedy eyes.

"She would be good profit. Let's sell her..."

"No." Itachi said, coldly.

"Oh? Then sell her to me. I'll get her for more then you give-"

"No. Step aside Kakuzu." Itachi demanded, his cold voice having a steely edge to it.

"As you wish." the man bowed mockingly and stepped aside.

Hinata turned her head to look back as Itachi moved her away from the two. She saw them, sillhouted against the the dim cavern light. Hidan was standing, leaning against his scythe. Kakuzu was still grinning at her. Their eyes shone tauntingly in the darkness, leering and threatening. Kakuzu pulled the string on his body and it seemed as if he disintegraded.

At this, Hinata face foreward quickly.

_Kakuzu. The Avarcious Rag-Doll._

* * *

Sasori and Deidara were waiting for them at the end of the tunnel. The room spanned into a large cavern, cold water dripping down. Its echos filled the silence.

"He wants to see her." Sasori said, his voice low and calm.

Hinata looked at him, admiration still present in her heart. He looked at her, his eyes full of pity and wonder that she even survived this far. Itachi pulled the girl closer to him.

"When?" was his only question.

"Now, yeah." Deidara said, quickly.

"Where?"

"Here. He'll be arriving soon." Sasori looked at the pale stone doors with writing on them.

Hinata let go of Itachi's hand and wandered over to them. She ran her hands over the old writings, realizing this feeling was a lot like running her hands over her hitai-ate. She leaned her head against the stone and closed her eyes, listening to the incoherent whispers of the three men a little ways from her.

She failed to notice, a figure, rising from the ground next to her. His dark cloak kissed the ground, his hands were hidden in his cloak, his eyes nothing more then blazing orbs of a dark gold and red. His face, half black, half white: a split personality. A split mind. Venus fly trap claws surrounded his head.

"What have we here..." he hissed, grabbing Hinata.

The girl gave a shriek when he lifted her up and raised a kunai to kill her. He grazed her arm and gave up with trying to sic her. He lifted her and tried to force her into his Venus-fly trap jaws. His breath smelled of flesh and blood.

"Such a lovely meal..." the face whined and screamed at her.

Hinata, who was completely freaked out, tried to pull her right arm out of his hard grasp. When she found she couldn't, she flipped up into the air so she was momentarly defying gravity. She spun on the monster's head with her left hand which was pulsing with chakra and kicked him square in the face.

"Damn girl..." the 'thing' hissed as he dropped his hold on her.

Shuriken and a massive explosion that shook the cavern floor made Hinata unbalanced and she fell, only to be caught by Sasori. She clung to him, her eyes shut. He cradled her for a moment and then let her down next to Itachi.

"She is not be eaten, Zetsu." Itachi hissed, his red eyes flaring.

The man went back to the shadows and fused with the ground once more with a snarl.

_Zetsu. The Disturbing Cannible._

* * *

How could she forget? There was a masked man next to where Zetsu had stood a few heart racing moments before. His face was covered by a wooden mask, orange and black swirls, almost like an optical illusion. He had just appeared, this mysterious man, like a ghost.

"Tobi is a good boy. Tobi will not hurt you." he said in a sickeningly cheerful way.

Hinata whimpered and drew back against the wall, wondering if this was a ploy, a lie. Sasori had let her go, to tell Itachi what had happened. She was alone with yet _another_...creature.

"S-stay away!" Hinata drew out her kunai and held it defensivly against her chest.

"But I am a good boy!" Tobi protested, reaching his cloaked arms out to hold her.

"GET BACK!" Hinata screamed, lunged at Tobi, the kunai flashing.

The man dodged it easily, as if he was walking on air. Hinata, furious at his taunting and her show of weakness with Zetsu, attacked again and again, but she could never get blood, only the black material.

Suddenly, she found herself pinned against the wall, her own kunai against her throat. Tobi, whose face would always be expressionless, whispered to her,

"Hinata-hime...is **_not_** a good girl."

With that, he disappeared, leaving the kunai to clatter to the stone floor, harmlessly.

Hinata stumbled back into Sasori's arms, knowing there were more surprises awaiting her in this dismal place.

_Tobi. The Morality Obsessed Monster._

* * *

Hinata, who had found her way back to the group shivering, all but clung to Sasori, though Itachi's furious eyes told her to go to him. Sasori uncurled her fingers from his cloak and pushed her gently toward the vehement Akatuski member.

"It wasn't I who saved you." Sasori whispered to her, as he led her towards her mentor. "I haven't done anything."

Hinata eyes went wide as she turned from her new idol, to her old. She was in no position to be choosing favorites. Sasori's golden eyes narrowed as Hinata hurried towards Itachi who surrounded her in his cloak. He sighed, brushed off his feelings and turned his back on them to approach his partner, Deidara.

_Sasori. Master of the Corpse Marionettes._

* * *

Deidara smirked and rolled his eyes. This was all too painful to watch. Disgusting, even. It was unprofessional of them to have any personal attachement. This was a change. Itachi and Sasori were never ones to covet any human companionship, and a girl's for that matter.

They all knew this. It was as bad as falling in love or turning your back on the Akatsuki. It was a sin of the Akatsuki.

He saw Hinata's eyes wander towards his and he felt his smile slip from his face. Her face was priceless. Her ivory eyes were wide and she was searching for a familiar face, even if it had to be a person she hated.

Deidara bit his lip, furious with himself. It had been a long time since he had felt any emotion, especially for a girl. Now was not a good time to start.

Still, he begrudgingly admitted, she was rather cute, in a galling, revolting, way. Hinata looked away in favor of Kisame and the smirk slid back on. He let it linger on his face because he liked the way it made him look. He looked almost...crazed.

It was fun scaring the girl. She might be weak and burdening at the moment, but, he reminded himself, she should become useful in the future. No...she **_will _**become useful.

_Deidara. The Insane Pyromaniac._

* * *

Kisame stayed hidden in the shadows. His disgust with his teammate was evident on his face. His arms were crossed, his eyes shut, and his mind closed to all that was taking place around him. This wasn't like Itachi at all. This was too out of character for him.

Ever since they had finished thier original mission, he had been like a cat on a hot tin roof. He was jumpy and angry, almost paranoid. When Hinata was with them, he began to become more subtle, but his eyes never stopped darting. He was really protecting her, and dragging Kisame alongfor the ride.

As he had no personal attachement to the girl, except for having his little bit of 'fun' with her, he saw no use for her.

There was no point in keeping a useless tool.

Kisame opened one eye and examined her. She was tiny, even to the average girl. Her stature had grown thin and fragile. Her ivory eyes were prominent in the darkness because of the dark rings surrounding them from lack of sleep. The two orbs darted to meet his and he looked away quickly.

He had seen the look on Deidara's face.

'So another succumbed to her. Maybe she is a weapon after all.' he thought, watching his cohorts carefully.

Kisame looked around the cavern. It was dark, damp and cold. This was no place for a girl like her. This was no place for anyone.

Except for those, like him, who were going to Hell when they died.

_Kisame. The Demon from the Sea._

* * *

Itachi could feel fear radiating off of the girl who was in the complete darkness of his cloak. For now, he was protecting her, not about to kill her. The man, willed the fury away and placed his cold hand on her head. She stopped shivering for a moment and clawed at his waist, and latched onto his body.

It was a strange feeling, having her cling to him, but he let her, despite the fact he knew it was just...wrong.

He had been careless. Since when had he **_ever _**been that reckless with another human being? It was unlike him. He knew something was working around him and fighting to take hold, but he'd be damned if he let it.

'She is not my weakness.' he thought to himself, slightly annoyed.

_Itachi. The Illusionist._

* * *

Suddenly, the doors opened, and in strode a tall, shadowed man, whose cold red eyes gleamed maliciously in the darkness of the cave. There was a transparancy to him and he seemed to glide over the floor, like a phantom.

Hinata cowered next to Itachi who let his hand slide from her shoulders. She wished in vain for him, or anyone, to hold her and comfort her. This...this person, was by far...the most terrifying creature she had seen in this cave of secrets and monsters.

"Hello there..." his voice slithered across her body and up her spine, sending her chills.

His voice was deep and cold, a silent harshness was hidden in the silky way he talked to the child. Hinata felt her blood run cold and her skin had goosebumps crawling up her arms.

"Why Itachi. I never expected anyone so young and beautiful to be with you. A true flower." the Leader exclaimed.

The Leader was mocking both her and Itachi. Hinata's brow furrowed and she bit her lip. She could feel Itachi stiffen as he glared at the Leader.

"She will be rooming with you from now on. You will train her every day that you do not have a mission. I expect a report from your previous assassination mission tomorrow." the Leader said, his commanding voice floating through the cave.

Hinata's pearly eyes never left the Leader's. They were the same color as Itachi's...but there was something else to them. There was something that said: I am evil itself. Shivers went down her spine, as she drew her gaze towards the ground.

"After a month of training, she will be ready for her first mission. She will practice with Orochimaru's apprentice after training with you." the Leader glided around, the dark mist creeping into the cracks of the walls.

"Hai." Itachi whispered, his hands clenching.

"I will talk to you soon." the Leader disappeared and a door leading to a tunnel closed sharply, signaling that the meeting was over.

_The Leader. The Black Mist of Terror._

* * *

The members began to leave, save Kisame, Sasori and Deidara. They watched, interested, with Itachi's behavoir with Hinata. The world of girls was new to them.

"Itachi-san, so good to see you home."

A snake like voice hissed from the shadows and out stepped a pale, gaunt man with oily black hair and sick yellow eyes. Strands of dark hair fell into his eyes as he looked at the girl with intrest.

His hands were resting on the shoulders of a young boy, no older then Hinata. He had beautiful blue eyes and a peach colored face. His lips were parted in shock and Hinata stared back innocently. Itachi put a protective hand on her shoulder, as did Orochimaru.

"Orochimaru-sama." Itachi said, curtly, the steely edge slipping under the polite tones.

The former Sannin let his gaze wander to the girl next to him and his eyes gleamed with hunger. He licked his lips as Hinata cringed and tried not to let her stare waver.

"And who is this?" Orochimaru said, mockery lacing his words.

"Hinata. She is **_my _**apprentice." Itachi nearly snarled.

At this, Deidara narrowed his eyes and his gaze met with Orochimaru's. Deidara shot a warning glare to the Sannin who lifted his hands in defense. The boy next to him tugged on his master's robe, getting his attention immediatly.

"All me to introduce Kimimaru, Hina-chan. He is my apprentice."

Hinata, her kunai in her grasp, blinked and shifted his eyes to take in the image of the pale boy before her. Kisame hissed,

"He looks like a drowned rat."

"He will bloom." Orochimaru scoffed with pride, his sneer never leaving his face.

The two children stared at each other in wonder, for it seemed like forever since they had last seen someone of interest or their age.

"I will see you later, Itachi-san. Kimimaru and I have work to do."

The two disappeared into the shadows of one of the many tunnels, their footsteps echoing off of the stone walls. Itachi breathed easier and pushed Hinata towards a passage way.

_Orochimaru. The Serpent._

* * *

They walked into the tunnels, slowly and carefully, while Hinata tried to take in her repetative surroundings. How strange it was, to be without light.

"This is our room."

Itachi pushed open a wooden door with many red tick marks on the door. Some were darker then others, but there was the same systamatic bloody lines that Hinata recognized as Itachi's. She did not need to ask what they were. They were telling of the people he had killed so far.

Behind the door, there were two beds, and a closet. A desk and a dresser drawer were off to one side of the room, while weapons were strewen everywhere.

"You will sleep on the bed. I will sleep on the floor." Itachi said with the first sigh Hinata had heard from him.

"But-"

He silenced her with a glare as Kisame marched into the room and snarled,

"My side is off limits brat."

"We will leave you to clean up. Be ready to begin training first thing tomorrow." Itachi said in a monotone voice.

They did not wait for an answer because they merely walked out and left her in the darkness. Hinata went over to the desk and lit the lamp. She ran her fingers over the cold mahonghony wood of the desk and polished chair. The wood had scars of old frustrations: deep grooves and burn marks. She noted the lack of pictures or personal items. Everything in the room was old and worn.

She sat on the bed and stared at the opposite side of the room. The silence was infuriating, but there was no one to talk to. No Hanabi to fight with.

One by one, tear after tear began to drip from her eyes. Hinata finally let out a sob before she collapsed into the pillows and sheets entirely. She missed her friends and surprisingly...her family.

_I have to let you go. I need to live._

"It's all your fault...I-I didn't..." she was peading with herself, trying to reason.

Whispers around the room made her shrink back in fear. She bit her lip until blood drops fell and she screamed,

"It _your fault_! I didn't do anything..."

_Exactly. You didn't do anything._

"They wouldn't let me."

_Are you sure?_

"Yes!"

_You can't keep blaming them._

"Yes, I can!"

_No you can't. You're dying and you know it._

"No, I'm not."

_Inside you are._

"I just wanted love..."

_That's stupid._

"Love me..."

_No._

"I can't feel anything..."

Silence. No whispers, no nothing.

_Hinata Hyuuga. The Broken Angel._

Here come the first steps towards insanity.

* * *

Itachi listened to Hinata cry from outside the door and knew he was making a serious mistake. His hands were resting on the wood and he let them slide down, feeling the cracks of the grain. His angel did not belong in Hell. Angels could not survive without love, light and warmth. Where would she get that down here? Certainly not from him or any of the others.

'She will die. It would be my fault.'

Itachi, in the blink of an eye, withdrew his weapons of choice and flung them into the darkness, knowing they should hit their target.

"Itachi. Itachi! Why are you getting so worked up about her?" Kisame hissed as he dodged an flying kunai with ease.

"I'm not." Itachi hissed.

He left his partner in the shadows, with confusion written on both of their faces. He spied Deidara and Sasori staring at him from their places as he passed them.

"Do you think she'll make it, senpai?" Deidara hissed to Deidara as they watched Itachi's retreating back.

Sasori shook his head.

Suddenly, the Uchiha began to realize that he was letting his angel rot in the darkness of the caverns and there was no on to blame for it but himself.

_The Akatsuki. The Red Dawn Rising._

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SweetStealer: THANKS FOR READING! Please review! huggles previous reviewers


	7. Manipulation

Sweets: I'm so sorry I've taken this long to update! I've been stuck with a fever of 102.9 and I feel like I've been hit by a truck!

Deidara: Do we care, yeah?

Sasori:Whatever. Just get beter.

Notes: Ok, it's a better chapter, yay, but please...don't just send me weird reviews like UPDATE!!!. I'll update when I feel better. Kay?

Kay.

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Chapter 7: Manipulation

-----------------------------------

"Hinata. **Wake up**." Itachi's voice had that tinge of annoyance in it.

_She's just like Sasuke._

The Uchiha had pulled his tired self from the hard, dusty floor and began to slip into his uniform. He turned his gaze to his partner, who gave an angry punch to the wall. There was a small crater where the wall had taken a routine beating every morning from the shark demon.

"You too. Get up." Itachi ordered, his pale fingers searching for his cloak folded on the dresser.

Kisame groaned as he dragged his slick blue body from the dirty covers of his rusting bed. He turned his gaze towards the lump next to him and the man standing over said lump. He scoffed.

"Tell her to wake up. This isn't a beauty school."

Itachi was silent.

The covers showed no signs of stirring, no signs of life. His obsidion eyes narrowed and he stripped the covers off his bed in one clean motion. His heart stopped beating and he drew in a sharp breath. Kisame looked up at his partner, a strange look on his face.

Granted, they usually never talked, but the way Itachi's body had gone rigid so suddenly caught his attention, immediatly.

"What is it?" he snarled, while dragging his shirt out from his pile of clothing.

Without a word, Itachi fled the room, his black cloak only half fastened and his black shirt hanging limply and haphazardly from his body. His frantic footfalls were lost in the darkness of the waking morning.

"Itachi!" Kisame roared after his partner, only half-dressed himself.

He turned to look at Hinata who should have been awake by now. He blinked in confusion.

Oh.

The bed was empty.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Orochimaru examined the girl with interest. He paced, he muttered, he _observed_. Kabuto was next to him, checking her temperature, her pulse, her blood pressure, as if this was an ordinary doctor's office and it was any other ordinary day. Orochimaru gazed at her in an almost parental way, his maliciousness hidden beneath a dark smile.

"Well, my dear. Shall we start?" he chuckled, approaching her.

Hinata, dazed blinked in confusion. She knew she wasn't in Itachi's room. All she knew was that she was with Orochimaru and some strange silver haired man named Kabuto.

Orochimaru was pleased. His mission to capture Hinata had been a success and for all he knew, Itachi would take a while in finding them.

"W-where am I?" Hinata's soft, but edged, voice echoed.

"Why do you need to know?" Orochimaru laughed, coldly.

Hinata gave a start and scrambled back to the other side of the wall, fusing herself to the stone and knocking things over as she did so. Her movements were lazy and clumsy. Kabuto hastily picked up his medical tools as Orochimaru walked to her.

"Come now, child. Don't be foolish." the pale man said in a silky voice, his cold yellow eyes never leaving her face.

Hinata gazed into his orbs and compared them to Sasori's. Sasori's were much warmer, and softer, even with the indifferent glint he always held in him. Orochimaru's eyes were a hard, an almost sick yellow color. She paled as he grabbed her arm.

"P-please...Orochimaru-sama. Let me go back to Itachi-sensei...please don't-" her voice stopped suddenly.

"Hai, what is it?" he asked, grinning, pleased she was in such a state of distress and terror.

"Don't e-experiment on me!" she cried, curling up into herself, tears streaming down her face.

The ghastly man grinned wider, his face resembling a skull. Hinata's eyes showed she was far beyond terrified. Her mind was on what Deidara had said, all those days before.

"That sounds like an order." he mocked her. "That's not very nice."

She cowered under his stare. Kabuto remained in the shadows, watching the entertainment unfold. Was this girl...could this weakling be the key to their success?

"You are of a noble branch. You are a pure Hyuuga." Orochimaru stated, letting go of her and pacing.

Hinata watched him, her eyes following his abrupt movements. His voice was still silky and sweet. His gleaming yellow eyes never left her face and watched all her movements in turn.

"No cursed cage mark scars your face, yet you cower like a **dog**." he hissed, eyes leering.

At this, Hinata's eyes blazed and she scrambled up, even in her drugged state. Kabuto started in defense, but Orochimaru waved his hand, lazily.

"You won't kill me." he smiled. "Or rather, you _can't _kill me."

Dried tears stuck to her face and her eyes were blurred. Her blood rushed and her temper flared.

"I could if I-"

"If what? You are the failure of you Clan. No body wants you. No body cares. You can't do anything."

"ITACHI-SENSEI PROMISED-" she began to cry hysterically, but stopped herself.

Orochimaru grinned and began again.

"What's this about promises? You're stuck with me. He's not coming back, for you you know."

Her heart began to sink. Hinata's spirit grew weak and she felt as if someone had poured a bucket of cold water over her exahusted body.

"He said he would stick by me. No matter what..." she cried, trying to reason with not only the sly man, but with herself.

"Angel..."

Hinata looked up, but there was no Itachi. He wasn't there to gather her into his arms, to tell her he was sorry. She had forgotten. Why did she always forget? This wasn't the same Itachi.

"Angel. That was his pet name for you. Wasn't it?"

It wasn't Orochimaru who said this, but Kabuto. His voice held pity and his black eyes were soft. Hinata nodded, mutely. The doctor bent down to face the fourteen year old girl. If the wanted to get to her...mental torture was not the way to go about it.

"Do you mind if I call you that?" he whispered, risking a smile.

Hinata shook her head, her body beginning to open up a little. Kabuto grinned wider.

"We need your help."

His hands reached behind him and drew out a scroll. It was large, bound with a red and white seal in the shape of a fan. The Uchiha symbol?

"Do you know what this is...?"

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Deidara spied from a hole in the cavern watching Kabuto pace, whispering to Hinata, his words and voice soothing. The blonde smirked. Hinata was easy to crack, for sure, and she could be swayed easily. The only problem was...what was Kabuto holding? What tools and methods was he using to lure the girl into his web of lies?

_An Uchiha scroll?_

Deidara, who was camoflauged as part of the coarse, limestone wall, rarely did reconnaissance missions, but something told him that Itachi was still attached to this..._creature_. If he didn't, he wouldn't have been the one telling him to watch over her. Deidara, with a scowl, muttered,

"What a waste of time."

_-Flashback: 24 hours eariler-_

"Deidara."

The man swiftly turned, only to find Itachi, glaring at him through the darkness. The explosion master smiled and bowed.

"Hai, Uchiha-senpai?"

Itachi approached him, his steps slow and deliberate. They were in the darkness of the tunnels and the little light that brightened them cast omnious shadows across their faces.

"I have a task for you that I am requesting on a personal account." he said, his tone sharp and cold.

"It's about the Hyuuga girl, isn't it, yeah?" Deidara smirked, fingering the clay that was always convient to him.

Itachi did not reply. His eyes merely bore holes through his head and Deidara grinned back, neither one willing to admit defeat.

"I want you to spy on Orochimaru. He took her last night. If he hurts her, get her out of there immediately." he said, his tone hard.

"Ah. But what if he doesn't, yeah?" Deidara questioned.

"Then you will continue to spy on them until he does." Itachi muttered through grit teeth.

"Get Zetsu to do it." Deidara brushed him off.

"Zetus will **eat her**." Itachi snarled.

Deidara looked at him for a moment.

"What's in it for me, yeah?" he asked, walking around the tunnel.

Itachi watched his movements, his eyes calculating and icy. He reached into his dark cloak and pulled out a bag. He threw it down on the ground in front of the man. Deidara, smiled easily.

"You're keeping money from Leader-sama? He and Kakuzu will not be pleased, yeah."

"Will you do it or not?" Itachi demanded.

There was a silence.

"Yes, I will. But I want to know something." he bent down to collect his money.

"What?" the Uchiha prodigy looked down upon him and gave him a stony glare.

"What is she to you, yeah? Why do you even care? If you really cared then you would have looked after her better."

Itachi turned his back so his face could no be seen but the curious Akatsuki member.

"That is none of your business. Now I suggest you take that as your answer before I feel inclined to slit your throat here and now."

"Alright, alright. Just remember-" Deidara paused as they both began to go their separate ways.

"Companionship weighs you down, yeah."

The footsteps stopped and Itachi glanced backwards as Deidara muttered a quick 'Ja!' and vanished into the shadows.

_-End Flashback-_

So Deidara had pasted himself to the wall, wondering what the hell he was doing there. Money... yes, money was always good. Yet, something told him to wait this out...to go through with it. Because of his feelings, he knew that money wasn't it...there was something stirring in the Akatsuki, something that didn't seem to fit. It was as if there was an underplot, something hidden...a secret.

It wasn't all about kidnapping the Jinchuriki and becoming an independent mercinary group, loyal to no village. No, there was something more. Whether or not Leader-sama knew about it, it would take place whenever it was time.

Whenever they were ready.

Orochimaru, Kabuto, Kimimaru...what were they planning?

_Scheming?_

What did Orochimaru need with Hinata? Why did Itachi care so much? Deidara realized, that by agreeing to do this job, he was getting tangled in something that he should have just refused. That damn Hyuuga girl **had** to go with Itachi, all because of some stupid bond that Itachi had unwisely put on them both when he was still sane.

Deidara, however, was still curious about the strange girl. He couldn't place it, but there was something unique about her. There was something that lay dorment inside of her, just begging to be let out. Power, no. Something...bigger?

**_Deadlier._**

The spy realized that with proper training and care, she could be of value to them. Leader-sama surely had a purpose for her, because he hadn't killed her right on the spot. On the contrary, his voice was sugar coated with delight when he saw her. Then it hit him.

The Byakugan?

No...something else, perhaps?

It frustrated him.

_What do they want with this child?_

Suddenly, a shrill, yet muffled shriek brought Deidara out of his trance and he found himself looking upon a most unpleasant sight. A seemingly lifeless body was slumped where a young Hyuuga girl had once sat. She was not moving. Orochimaru, with a smirk, began to collect his things, with an annoyingly calm ease.

Deidara realized...this was not his usual curse mark. Something was dripping off of the Sannin's fangs. It looked a lot like...blood?

_Why is there blood on his fangs? His curse marks don't go that deep._

Kabuto was checking the girl's pulse, heart rate...his face held panic and worry. Was something wrong? Was that's why they were fleeing the scene?

The cavern floor become splotched with dark, crimson colored drops falling from a seated Hinata. There were bloody red lines stretching from the chair. It wasn't her blood though. Lines forming letters dark in color were stretching across to the corners of the room.

_Kanji marks?_

A dark, navy blue curse mark tainted her once pure skin and burned a firy orange. It crawled up her face, writhering up and down her body, covering every inch of her a dark blue.

Deidara, annoyed, crawled with bug like skills, down the wall, keeping his henge in place at the same time.

"." he muttered as he felt his chakra weakening.

He had used up too much, staying attached to the side of the wall. He listened to what Orochimaru was beginning to whisper.

"Leave her. We'll come back in the morning to see if she's still alive and complete phase two."

Kabuto nodded, and the two made to leave.

"Oh, and Deidara!" Orochimaru called out and the man on the wall stiffened.

_He knew I was here...?_

"You better hurry. Itachi will be missing his pet."

---

SweetStealer: ...yay.

Itachi: Review.


	8. Delerium

Sweets: YES! Another chapter!

Hinata: Yay!

Itachi:...walking away. **Now.**

Sweets: Anyway...I'll be posting at a steady stream thanks to summer. Updating is taking a lot out of me.

Please review!

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Chapter 8: Delerium

Hinata's pale, feverish body was first brought before the council, not Itachi. The furious, red-eyed man was sitting on his platform, resisting the urge to spill the clay master's blood right then and there. The rest of the Akatsuki got a good look at her dying form.

Deidara had scooped her up roughly and rushed her to Itachi's living quarters. Unfortunately, for the both of them, Leader-sama was there, discussing the very creature that had burst into Itachi's room in Deidara's arms. The Leader decided then and there that she was to decide her own fate in the Akatsuki by living or dying. They would deal with Orochimaru later.

The Uchiha scroll was left in Itachi's room, a forgotten bargaining chip.

The girl was slipping in and out of consciousness, only marked by the feble raising of the hand or the silent grasp of Itachi's robes. She was only a few inches away from Itachi and her hand always reached from skin, he brushed it away and she had to settle for his cold, black robes.

"She is dying." Hidan observed, scrutinizing her with his sneering eyes.

"You stated the obvious." Kisame snapped, his own eyes closed, his mind open.

Over the past few days, he had...well...grown _accustomed _to her. He liked to freak her out, like Deidara. He liked to play mind games with her, insult her, talk to her...Kisame opened an eye. This did not bode well.

"I still think we should sell her," Kakuzu hissed again from his platform, a hunchbacked mass of leering black material. "She would sell for a lot."

"We are keeping her here." Sasori announced, his voice cold, daring anyone to question him.

So Deidara did, because he was still galled at his whole 'rescue mission'.

"Why, yeah? She has a lot of catching up to do. We should just kill her, yeah." he took out a kunai. Itachi, without hesitation, took out eight gleaming shuriken, all poised for killing.

"Why waste her? Sell her!" Kakuzu roared.

"Kakuzu, your greed will be your downfall." Hidan snarled at his partner, trying to calm the tempoary uproar.

"Give her to me..." Orochimaru jumped gleefully into the verbal fray from his respectable platform, eying the girl with a strange zeal.

"Like Hell we will." Itachi muttred, drawing the girl closer to him.

"How about we eat her, eh...she looks like a filling meal." Zetsu whined in his corner, his yellow eyes blazing with hunger.

"Silence."

The translucent Leader glided over to the center of the room, beckoning for Itachi to bring her over. With some reluctance, Itachi carried her over to him and placed her gently in the center for all to gaze upon her. Finally, the Leader spoke.

"Orochimaru, you were instructed not to touch her."

"And I didn't." the snake answered, simply.

"And yet she's barely breathing." Kisame muttered, sarcastically, as Hinata began wheezed shallowly.

Orochimaru silenced him with a glare and hissed,

"You said for me to experiment with the curse marks, and so I did."

Deidara shifted, his visible blue eye was gleaming. He didn't care about the girl, but he didn't like that Orochimaru was lying to the Leader. But he just couldn't remember...

_It was something else._

"Ah, but I also said for subjects to be well and whole." The Leader chided.

"It is her own fault for being weak. It is her decision to live or die. You can't experiment with curse marks without taking a risk, _Leader-sama._" Orochimaru grit his teeth in anger, though mocking the Leader's status.

There was a momentary silence, only to be broken by Kabuto walking in and taking his place in between Orochimaru and Sasori.

"If she lives, Itachi will decided what to do with her. An apprentice maybe? If she dies," the Leader paused. "Let's just say that you had better hope she lives."

The two men visibly stiffened, unsure of how to react upon hearing that their lives might depend on the living of a weak and fragile girl. The Leader dissipated, signaling that the meeting was over. Orochimaru smirked wickedly.

"She will die. And you will face the concequences." he laughed, dark malice coating his voice.

In a flash, Itachi had Orochimaru pinned against the cavern wall, little bits of dust and rock raining down upon them. The others turned to watch, while a few stared at the seemingly lifeless girl in the center of the room.

"You will tell me how to undo the curse mark, or face the option of having your head cut off here and now." Itachi snarled, his kunai pressing against the snake tamer's throat. Still, he laughed.

"Itachi, Itachi, Itachi...You are being foolish. There is no way you can save her. There is not enough time." he hissed, gleefully.

Itachi activated his Magekyou Sharingan. Instantly, Orochimaru's world turned red, his white body was literally, nailed to the floor. Itachi was standing over him, his eyes dangerously narrow. Above the tortured Orochimaru, hung an ax, held by the furious Uchiha.

"It's funny how you're willing to risk it all for her." Orochimaru laughed.

"You will endure me cutting off all of your limbs with this ax for seventy-two hours, unless you tell me the antidote." he hissed, raising the ax.

Orochimaru grinned, hideously.

Strike 1.

_A true assassin never begs for mercy or compassion._

Strike 2.

_A true assassin never screams._

Strike 3.

_A true assassin never tell his secrets under pain of death._

Time and time again, Itachi Uchiha hacked off Orochimaru's limbs, watching the gaunt man's face shudder and wince as the ax fell over and over. Blood was spewing everywhere. It was disgusting and horrifying, but they both carried it out.

Seconds past. Deidara and Sasori blinked as Orochimaru collasped on the floor in front of the Uchiha victor. Itachi looked at them and then at a small scroll that was in the cold hands of the serpent conductor. He picked it up and unfurled it, his face remaining indifferent.

"What is it?" Kisame approached him.

"I-I don't know." Itachi said, putting his hands over his eyes, as if he had a headache.

"What? Give me that." Kisame snatched it out of Itachi's hands and read it. He triumphantly smacked the paper and shouted,

"This is the antidote."

Itachi was silent.

"Good." he whispered, his eyes never leaving the spot where Orochimaru once lay.

"Uchiha-san. Are you alright?" Sasori turned his attention to Itachi who clutched at his head.

For a split second, it looked as if Itachi was going to turn on them and slaughter his companions then and there. Then, Hinata gave a sharp cry and curled into a tighter ball. Itachi hesitantly walked towards her. He was beginning to understand...

Hinata had always, and will always effect him in ways he could not comprehend. She had capturedhim from the very moment they had met all those years ago.

"Itachi. Did you know this was the antidote?" Sasori asked, taking the scroll from Kisame who was bewildered.

Slowly, the Uchiha raised his weary head and shook it.

"Eh? Why?" Deidara walked over, making sure to kick Orochimaru in the head as he walked past, all thoughts of the poison gone.

Itachi glared at them.

"I couldn't see it." he said, his pale fingers roaming his face.

Kisame gave him a look.

"The hell does that mean?"

"Kisame, I'm blind."

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Orochimaru was not a happy camper at this time. His head hurt, and his eyes had bandages over them. Thick dark, ugly things that wrapped around his pale yellow eyes made him equally as blind as the Uchiha and lacking in a vital sense.

Kabuto had him on life support and every few hours, the silver haired man had to do a mental check and pratically tear open the bandages to see the eyelids, making sure his master's eyes were still functioning. However, Orochimaru was grinning all the while.

"Kabuto," he began lazily as heard the medic nin move about. "What do you think of Hinata Hyuuga?"

The man did not looked up from his work and answered quietly,

"She is too young."

Orochimaru gave a hollow, mocking laugh. A small, dark serpent slithered over his bed and disappeared into the shadows.

"She is a beauty, is she not?" he smiled, leaning back into the dark, dirty sheets.

Kabuto merely nodded.

"I wonder..." the snake hissed. "They do not know that it is not a curse mark...but a _**poison**_."

It was then the medic nin set down his clipboard and sighed.

"Orochimaru-sama, you are trying to make a point but I'm just not seeing or hearing it."

The older of the two gave another spine-chilling laugh.

"What if I was to say...take her in as my own pupil? Or rather...control her. She would certainly have some other uses besides _training._"

Kabuto stiffened.

"Itachi never lets her out of his sight. Besides, she might not live through this ordeal anyway."

Orochimaru waved his hand lazily, feeling quite disheartened at the lack of sight, but his ideas growing by the second.

"Oh no. She has time. I gave him the antidote you know."

Kabuto dropped a vial and it shattered to the floor, the sound echoing in the large room they were situated in.

"You _**what**_?" he asked, completely bewildered.

"Oh yes, our little Hinata-hime will be fine. The antidote works well. However," he laughed darkly. "It only treats the curse mark wound. It requires Itachi to draw some blood to take away the mark, leaving the poison and the chemicals used in the antidote. _His_ blood will be used."

The dawn of understanding came onto Kabuto's pale face.

"Then...his blood will flow through Hinata's veins?"

_The combination of poisoned blood with an Uchiha's._

"Hai. Really Kabuto, I sometimes wonder about you. You're such a simpleton. " the man laughed, knowing how much it vexed the medic.

_He wants the Uchiha's blood so he can complete the poison inside Hinata._

Kabuto turned back to the charts and reminded himself never to underestimate Orochimaru and to never forget the cunningness of the snake that had made him a Sannin. Though the man had lost one of his senses, Kabuto might lose his life. He sighed.

"Hai, Orochimaru-sama."

----

R-E-V-I-E-W. Sorry if it's complex. DON'T KEEEEEEEL MEE!


	9. Nostrum

Sweets: I'm going through a kinda dark phase. So, if you're confused message me with **specific questions** so that I can tell you what you need to know.

Hinata: MKay...

Itachi: Whatever.

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Chapter 9: Nostrum

_I can't control myself because I don't know how._

This was too much. Itachi was slowly regaining his sight, though objects were blurry. His vision faded in and out, and he knew he had to act quickly before more time was lost. He winced as the veins connecting to the brain throbbed in pain, and he silently wondered if the Hyuugas got any pain like this. But he reminded himself that he couldn't be thinking of this now.

With Deidara and Sasori, the three sat at three points of a pentagram ignited in green chakra, Hinata in the center. Their hands were in three different hand seal signs.

Dragon. Deidara.

Tiger. Sasori.

Snake. Itachi.

Kisame was quickly mixing Itachi's blood with other chemicals and natural ingredients needed for this to work. If the blood antidote failed...all of this would have been wasted, and Hinata...dead.

But something else worried the Sharingan user. His brow furrowed as he hissed in pain.

_He __**gave**__ me the antidote. He must want something._

His eyesight was fading in and out, blurring and shadowing by the second. Through hazy vision, he had memorized the scrawled instructions and followed them in order. It had been a tiresome process, indeed.

"Kisame, are you almost ready?" Itachi grunted as the chakra depletion was weakening him.

"Hn."

Kisame took the syringe filled with Itachi's dark red blood. He lazily walked over to them, taking his place next to Itachi, leaving the top point of the star open. He quickly infused Itachi's blood with Hinata's and resumed his position with the hand seal of 'Boar'.

"Itachi!" Sasori hissed in warning, as he weakened with every slipping bit of chakra.

The chakra flared and quickly turned red. Hinata gave a scream and clutched head in her delerious state. Itachi and the others winced, but carried on. Itachi murmured incoherent curses and seals.

"Itachi...hurry _**up**_, yeah!" Deidara shouted, his chakra wearing dangerously low.

The pentagram turned from red to blue to a subtle white, hissing and sparking with every color change. Kisame began to wheeze as smoke filled the room.

The girl levitated, because of the amount of chakra that was flowing from her body, but plummeted back down into the awaiting arms of Itachi. He watched with his fading vision and saw the spotted black marks on her skin begin to fade.

"Her fever's going down." Sasori said, feeling her forehead, relief edging into his voice.

So he had grown _oh so_ fond of her.

Deidara and Itachi slumped down onto the ground, after Itachi had thrust Hinata into Sasori's arms. Sasori grunted in protest, and finally fell to his knees with her in his arms.

"Kisame...I can't see."

Itachi's voice was calm, but a slight panic laced the cold edges. Kisame watched his partner stagger up, but then lean against the wall. Suddenly, their attention was focused towards Hinata. She shuddered and gave a whimper as her eyes flew open.

Deidara stumbled back and Sasori let her down gently, his eyes wide. Kisame had shock in his voice and peered at Hinata with a new, keener interest.

"Itachi. Something's wrong with the..._thing_." he said,

"What?" Itachi snapped.

"I-Itachi-sensei!" Hinata whimpered, staring at her bloody vision, that showed impurities, not the natural clearness she was used to.

Itachi stiffened. Hinata's hysterical crying did not help them either.

"Would you shut up, yeah?!" Deidara cried, his hands throbbing.

The child gave another shriek and finally lay still, small clouds of dust floating around her. Her eyes were still open, glazed and out of touch with the world.

She looked..._**dead**_.

Itachi hissed in anger as Kisame reached out to touch his arm. The three drew back and one by one left the darkening room and the girl. Sasori, the last to leave, checked Hinata's pulse, breathed and watched her eyes bleed from red to white. Hinata hiccuuped and her breathing was too shallow.

But that was the least of his problems.

"Her fever's coming back at an alarming rate." he whispered.

"Leave her." Itachi snarled, sensing the puppeteer reaching to take her.

"She has the-"

"Leave. Her. Be."

Sasori sighed, put up his hands in protest and left, slamming the wooden door behind him. It rattled on its hinges and there was a clink of metal as the handle nearly fell out.

Itachi finally sighed, showing his weakned state to no one except the spiders on the walls and an unconsious girl whose eyes finally closed.

"What did I do?" he whispered to the walls.

_A Hyuuga with a Sharingan._

He did not hear or sense another figure slip out of the room, his white hair and pale body leaving no evidence that he was there, as Itachi had falled into a dispairing sleep.

_I've killed her._

----------------------------------------

"Right eye, Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto said, tiredly.

As the snake master slowly moved his hand to cover his left eye, there was a piercing shriek and a slamming of the door as a figure came into the room, panting from fright. Orochimaru raised an eyebrow and gave a dark laugh as Kabuto went to the newly arrived person.

His pawn had arrived.

"Kimimaru," Orochimaru said easily, not caring that he looked worse for wear. "You have returned."

A fourteen year old boy, knelt before his master hurridly, his silver white hair falling into his eyes. Kabuto went around to give him a sedation shot.

"Hinata Hyuuga is awake, sir." he gasped out, still startled that he even got out of the room alive.

Kabuto smiled at Orochimaru's apprentice.

"Well done, Kimimaru. You may leave." he said, easily, walking over to Orochimaru.

But yet, the boy stayed. The Sannin shoved Kabuto aside and stood up and threw his dirty bandages to the floor. His cured yellow eyes gleamed as he walked over to his apprentice.

"You have something to say?"

"Hai. The Hyuuga has acquired the same eye technique as Uchiha-san. The Sharingan."

Orochimaru stopped walking, turned swiftly, and gave a calm glare towards Kabuto. He staggered backwards and hesitated before he spoke.

"Orochimaru-sama, I was sure that-"

"No, no. You did well, Kabuto." Orochimaru sighed, weary.

The two apprentices were silent, seeing that the Sannin was in shallow thoughts, wondering what the next move on his chess board was.

"Do any of them know about the poison?" he asked, quickly.

"No. Deidara-san seems to have forgotten all about it. Hinata-san's poisoned blood should be interacting with Uchiha-san's now."

"Good, good." Orochimaru paused.

His plan...it was going smoothly. Too smoothly.

His poison was new, deadly and wonderful to the medical world. It was a blood poison...controlling and manipulative. It worked well. His years of research had not been in vain.

"Kimimaru. I have a new mission." Orochimaru said slowly, his smile widening with every word.

The words whispered in the dark were cold and leering, underestimating and arrogant. The youngest of the men let his eyes grow wide with shock, and slowly nodded his head with an understanding. Finally, he poofed out of the room, leaving a trail of gray smoke.

It wasn't like he could _actually_ go against Orochimaru's orders.

He was only the pawn, easily disposible and limited.

Kabuto clutched his clipboard and walked over to Orochimaru, who sighed and fingered his dirty white yukata, his face thoughtful.

"Kabuto..." he hissed, beckoning to the medic-nin.

"Hai, Orochimaru-sama."

"We now have three sources for Uchiha blood. Three sources for our poison."

Kabuto laid down his clipboard and sighed, and leaned on the wooden desk next to his exahusted body.

"Why do we need the Uchiha's blood, again?"

Orochimaru cast an annoyed gaze towards his helper.

"Kabuto, you simpleton. We need good, pure blood for the poison to work. It's the very heart of it! The Uchiha's have had the best blood for a long time."

There was a silence.

"What about the Hyuugas? What about other noble families? They have clean blood last time I checked."

Orochimaru's eyes gleamed.

"No. Since they introduced the caged bird curse...it has been tainted. Even the Main House. You have seen the Uchiha prodigy. He is the best. And this poison has no antidote. If you have tainted blood, you can have an antidote."

"Everything...everything has an anti-" Kabuto began, his brow furrowing as he was cut off abruptly.

"No. This does not."

"But it can't be...potent!" Kabuto cried, looking over his charts.

"Kabuto. Once I mix **my **venom with the poison I will have total-control over the subject. Why do you think I gave her the curse mark? My blood was on my teeth. Three types of blood are in her body. Her's, mine and the Uchiha's. With the antidote in her body, the poison is now complete. Do you _**understand**_?!" Orochimaru hissed, ending his tirade the arguement.

"The poison starts with your blood being injected into a vessal, disguising it with a curse mark so you can get chemicals doubling as the antidote _**and**_the poison into her body and the Uchiha's blood." he paused to breathe, ingnoring Orochimaru's quite _peeved_ expression.

"The mark goes away, but the chemicals mix with your blood, her blood and the Uchiha's creating it-" Kabuto stopped his long winded explination as soon as Orochimaru threw a kunai at his head.

There was a deadly silence as Orochimaru dared him to continue.

Kabuto was tiresome when he wanted to be.

"Hinata carries our poison. She needs to live in order for us to keep it." Orochimaru narrowed his eyes, challenging Kabuto to continue.

Kabuto stopped his protests, reminding himself that Orochimaru, the famed Sannin, was cultured in the medical and poison ways.

"But Hinata will die." he murmured, thoughtfully. "And all of this will have been wasted and another test subject dead."

"She will only die if her body cannot take in and adapt to the poison. If she dies, it's her fault, but **we-will-get-the-poison**." he snarled.

Again, Orochimaru outranked and outsmarted him. He was, like Kimimaru, a pawn. His mind reeled and wandered for a few moments while continuing his master's eye exam.

"All clear, Orochimaru-sama."

The man nodded and smiled darkly.

"Do not worry, Kabuto-kun. Hinata will live. She will become stronger. And when Kimimaru completes his mission, she will be under our control. She will then ensnare our ultimate goal, which is _who_, Kabuto-kun?" Orochimaru taunted.

"Itachi..." Kabuto answered obediantly.

"Very good." Orochimaru laughed. "Remember, Kabuto. Leader-sama is not running this organization. I am."

Kabuto nodded.

Orochimaru was back to normal.

---

What's normal anyway?

Reviews are what I live on. No, kidding, but the'yre nice.


	10. Backfired

SweetStealer: I'm shocked and amazed the the response to this fic. I love you guys!!!

"_If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning: just as, if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never know it was dark. Dark would be without meaning."_

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Chapter 10: Backfired

"Kill him."

Zetsu advanced, his eyes shining at the possibility of a fresh meal. Tobi approached from the back, cracking his knuckles while laughing behind his mysterious mask. Hidan was finishing up a prayer, his hands already cut from the small blood sacrifice he had made on the spot. Kakuzu, ever calculative, was removing his lion mask from his back. Sasori and Deidara surrounded the target, their blood hot with anticipation of a new kill. Sasori shifted his eyes towards Hinata but refocused him when Deidara kicked his foot.

Who was the target you ask? It was the Sannin known as Orochimaru. His gleaming old-ivory eyes were laughing at them all, including the Leader who stood erect before them, venom seeping from his voice.

"Orochimaru, you have crossed the line this time." Leader said with deadly calm in his voice.

"But she was just so _available._" the serpent laughed, malevolently.

"In addition, you have deceived this organization. You are now a liability, along with everyone else you are attached to. Kabuto and Kimimaru must go as well."

"All this because of a weakling?" Orochimaru sighed, standing still.

"You were instructed not to poison her, yet you felt the need to ensnare her." Sasori said, quietly, his body encased in the puppet Himiko? .

To him, this was Orochimaru, his former partner. He had always been quieter and more cunning then Deidara. It had been a surprise to him when the Sannin wanted to break the bonds of partnership. It had surprised him even more when the Leader agreed, sticking him with an unstable blonde who was as explosive as his personality.

"But you should have seen her...withering on the ground like...a snake." Orochimaru's eyes flashed as Zetsu summoned his vine-like tendrils.

Hinata, shaking, collapsed in a heap next to the Leader, who put a dark, shadowed hand on her shoulder. She shuddered under his touch, but his eyes never strayed to her. The red orbs remained on the great beast before them.

Itachi was furious. No, he was beyond furious. He was enraged.

She.

Was.

**His.**

How _**dare**_ he touch Hinata. Both of the former Konoha ninja were exchanging glares of hatred and mockery. The snake wriggled and squirmed, but laughing insanely the whole time.

"Was the whore yours, Itachi-san? She served her purpose quite well."

With a snarl, Itachi had him pinned against the wall, a scene worthy of the term de-ja-vu. Kimimaru and Kabuto winced and backed into the shadows.

Yes...Orochimaru's plan his been discovered.

-_Flashback 24 hours ago-_

_"Are you sure?" the Leader asked, his hoarse voice hissed through the darkness._

_"Hai. Hinata shows no signs of the curse seal but...she is not recovering." Itachi said in a monotone voice._

_There was a silence in the meeting hall. Orochimaru could all but suppress a smirk in his dark, shadowed corner. Next to him was the rarely seen apprentice of his: Kimimaru. The young boy looked at the pale form of Hinata with interest. _

_She was his mission?_

_This weak girl?_

_Itachi was loosely holding the scroll that Hinata had exchanged her body for in his hand. His obsidian eyes worked their ways around the room, pausing on the mocking Sannin and his indifferent apprentice._

_Hinata blinked, and looked around the room with a glazed expression in her empty lily eyes. She finally began to recognize the figures in the dimmed room. The circle was always the same._

_Itachi had bowed and retreated to his spot next to her. He glanced down at her, put his cold hand on her face and caressed it. Hinata, startled, began to shoot up but Itachi let his hand slide away and he sighed. Kisame, who was on Itachi's left, blinked and shot a confused look at her._

_Suddenly, she couldn't suppress a cough and to her frustration and horror, blood came dripping out of her mouth. This was not the first time it had happened. She earned looks from everyone. Sasori blinked and then narrowed his eyes in Orochimaru's direction._

_He reached over to squeeze her hand but Hinata, afraid, drew her hand away. Deidara sighed and poked her with two fingers in the back and she became paralyzed._

_"Dammit." Hinata cursed him under her breath._

_"If she doesn't recover by tomorrow, kill her." the Leader said simply._

_"Hai." Itachi said, tiredly, his black eyes returning to his frozen charge._

_"We'll meet again in that time. Dismissed."_

_--------------------------------------------------------------------_

_Hinata watched, fascinated. Kimimaru was as cunning as he was graceful. His bones, milky and strong, gleamed with a pale beauty that she knew she could never achieve with her eyes. Though he was the apprentice of Orochimaru, his skill was tempting and impressive._

_She was still feverish, but she knew that if she didn't do something soon, she would die disappointing Itachi. Kimimaru was so...beautiful. Even his face had a delicate, rare beauty. She was so enthralled. He was barely older then her, but so skilled!_

_The boy spied her, lurking shyly in the shadows, and turned to face her. His curiosity was also overpowering his will._

_"Come out." he ordered quietly._

_She walked out, hesitantly. She drew the white sheet closer to her shivering body and was determined to keep eye contact._

_"You are Itachi-san's apprentice, are you not?" he looked down on her._

_"Yes." she whispered eyes averted to the ground._

_Hinata raised her ivory orbs and looked at him straight in the eye. She was taken aback by the crystal blue color she was looking into. He stared at her critically, but smiled after a while._

_"My name is Kimimaru."_

_"Hinata." she managed to whisper._

_"What a pretty name. So sunny." he laughed._

_She smiled. He was the first to comment on her name. He was also the first to laugh at her without mockery or hate or spite._

_"You were a Hyuuga, right?" Kimimaru asked, withdrawing his bones._

_She nodded, watching them melt back into his body. Kimimaru frowned, and knelt down in front of her._

_"It's alright. I won't hurt you." _

_Her pearly eyes flashed and drew back, her face tinged red. He looked at her with surprise. She smiled back, her eyes still gleaming with a determined nature Kimimaru was amazed to see._

_"Fight me."_

_"Excuse me?" he asked, getting up and raising an eyebrow._

_She continued to smile, tiredly._

_"Fight me." she repeated, tossing away the sheet to reveal she was only in a pair of black shorts and white teeshirt. Black ribbon raced up her right arm and a tightly wound black bandage was on her left leg. On top of that was a small weapon's pouch. _

_She looked like a child, with her hair pulled into a small ponytail, but Kimimaru only smiled and nodded._

_"Fine."_

_He charged his bones flashing and a smile painting his face. Hinata, obviously deciding not to get hit, skipped backwards with every step Kimimaru took towards her._

_His bones came flying by her, whizzing all around. She activated her Byakugan, and realized she couldn't use Juuken in this battle. She was no Hyuuga anymore. _

_They danced._

_----------------------------------------_

_Itachi watched from the shadows. Surprisingly, Hinata was holding up quite well. He watched as her eyes began to bleed from white to Sharingan red. He gave a start when Hinata stumbled and got grazed by one of Kimimaru's bones._

_"Leave her be." Kisame ordered, as he saw his partner get up._

_Itachi remained silent, watching Hinata struggle with the Sharingan. He sighed and turned, so he didn't have to see how much he needed to train her._

_"KAITAN."_

_Abruptly, Itachi's cast his dark gaze over to where the battle was and let his eyes widen a fraction. Kisame was smirking._

_'When did she learn...'_

_Hinata, who was smirking, looked quite pleased in herself. However, that smile only lasted a split second because she took a beating from Kimimaru who was annoyed._

_Bones were flying and Hinata was falling. Kimimaru stood over her, panting._

_"If you can hit me in ten moves, ten times...then I won't use my bones." Kimimaru smiled._

_Hinata was panting and her eyes flashed._

_Red returned to white._

_"Why?" Hinata asked._

_"You're pretty good." Kimimaru grinned and offered her a hand up._

_She took it and they stood a little ways apart from each other. Hinata smiled happily and blinked._

_"Alright."_

_She charged towards him. Her footsteps were silent and Kimimaru readied himself. Itachi and Kisame found themselves leaning foreward with anticipation as to how Hinata would do it._

_Suddenly, Hinata, with a burst of rock and dirt, came up from under Kimimaru and hit him in the chin._

_"Ichi."_

_The second Hinata who was charging, dodged the fingertips of bones easily. She loved the way her fist made contact with his jaw._

_"Nii."_

_The Hinata who had come up from under the earth went down and made and swiped her leg around so that Kimimaru fell to the floor due to that his legs had buckled out from under him._

_"San."_

_Kimimaru was up in a flash of white and he charged at her. Hinata watched as the clone that she had put underground disappeared. She did a clean backflip, turned on her palms and heard a crack as her heel connected with Kimimaru's temple._

_"Shi"_

_Kimimaru grabbed her foot and Hinata felt herself dangling in the air. She twisted around and saw that Kimimaru's rib cage was beginning to protrude. She quickly arched her back so she was temporarily upright and hit him again in head._

_"Go."_

_It all went quickly from there. Kimimaru had dropped her and she began to gather chakra into her hands. Her fist went into his cheek._

_"Roku."_

_Then his collarbone._

_"Shichi."_

_Then she kicked into his stomach and he doubled over. A small smile of satisfaction began to slip onto her features._

_"Hachi."_

_Another sidekick to his stomach made Kimimaru gasp for air._

_"Kyuu."_

_The boy made one final attempt to capture her by grabbing her hands firmly. Hinata closed her eyes, flipped upwards, taking him with her._

_As they defied gravity, Hinata slipped her hands out of Kimimaru's grasp and curled her hand into a fist. The final blow came to Kimimaru's cheek where there was the sound of bone breaking._

_"Juu."_

_Hinata, exhausted, fell onto the ground while Kimimaru tumbled down next to her. Ignoring the sharp, pinching pain in her arm, she closed her eyes. She was breathing heavily and she could faintly hear footsteps approaching her. Itachi, surprised but satisfied, bent down next to her and whispered,_

_"Well done."_

_Suddenly, there was a sharp pain near her heart and she spit blood out of her mouth. Itachi looked at her dark blood and his eyes narrowed. He motioned for Kisame to come over and he hissed,_

_"She's been poisoned."_

_They looked over at Kimimaru who was standing up, his eyes glazed over. A syringe was in his hand, filled with Hinata's blackened blood._

_"G-gomen." he whispered and disappeared in a puff of smoke._

-_End Flashback-_

The Leader was most displeased at how this turned out. He knew he shouldn't have trusted Orochimaru, but on what basis could he trust any of the others? He cast his gaze over to Itachi who was fuming, Kisame who was unbinding the Samehada, Sasori who was already edging his puppets closer and closer to Orochimaru as he protected himself in the puppet, and to Deidara who was molding his clay.

"Kill him. Now." he ordered.

They charged, emotionlessly, ready to kill their former member.

"You don't want to be doing that. You see," Orochimaru laughed while dodging all of their attacks with ease. "I have something you need, Itachi."

Itachi, his face the very picture of indifference, never batted an eyelash when he answered,

"What?"

Time stopped when Orochimaru took out the Uchiha scroll that Deidara recognized as the bargaining tool that he had used to leur Hinata into trading her body for. He hadn't, however, kept his side of the bargain.

"It's the cure for the Mangeykyo Sharingan. It's getting painful to use, isn't it?" Orochimaru smiled widely, his teeth gleaming.

Itachi and the others stopped. Hinata, in a state of panic, tried to scream out but the Leader put a hand over her mouth.

"Your girl over there traded her body for this. She wanted to help you. It's so sweet it's sickening."

Itachi glared at Hinata who looked away.

"But how about this...I give you the scroll in exchange for the girl."

Sasori and Deidara looked quickly at Itachi who blinked. Kisame narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip on the Samehada.

--------------------------------------------

Itachi could only stare at Orochimaru. The serpent was laughing at him, holding the yellowing scroll as his wild card. Itachi knew he needed that scroll. His life, literally, depended on it. Already his eyesight was leaving him at a steady rate. Everything was blurring and shadowing. What could he do?

He could...he could sell out Hinata. The man glanced over to the girl who was looking at him, silently pleading with her milky eyes not to do the things he was thinking about. She knew. She knew he wanted to sell her and betray her. He cared for himself. This was the way it had always been.

Itachi's fading red gaze began to wander around the room, avoiding his teammates' eyes and glares. He looked at Hinata, and then at Orochimaru. The snake was smiling widely, as if he was waiting to welcome him into a whole different screwed up world. There was a gain for him if he agreed, but there was the loss of Hinata. What was she to him anyway?

There was one choice left.

------------------------------

"No."

Itachi charged his eyes aglow with the Mangeykyo Sharingan and a kunai gripped in his hand. Hinata shut her eyes and gripped the Leader's cloak so tightly her knuckles turned white.

Orochimaru, his eyes gleaming, disappeared in a puff of smoke. Kimimaru and Kabuto vanished as well. Itachi turned to look at Hinata who was staring at him with now wide-open eyes. He dropped his kunai and walked over to her.

"Why would you do such a thing." Itachi said, his tone hard and unforgiving.

"G-gomen." Hinata cowered and began to stumble over her words.

"Why did you do that?!" he said, his voice beginning to escalate.

The others looked away. She was still too human. She still held onto the old Itachi, when they all knew he had long disappeared into the darkness.

"Itachi. I cured her." Sasori said his voice monotone.

"What?" the Uchiha muttered.

"I cured her myself. Kisame told me and I was lucky enough to have enough ingredients to make an antidote for it." he paused, not knowing how to go on."She has the Sharingan, but the poison is out of her body. Orochimaru was flawed when he thought there was no antidote."

"How did you know?" Itachi murmured, stepping back.

"Last meeting, she spit up black blood. Kisame just confirmed my suspicions. Orochimaru-sama was good in covering in tracks."

There was a silence. Deidara shouted,

"And _**what about**_ Orochimaru-sama?!"

"Let him go...Orochimaru is strong, and he could kill all of you. He does not know the full plans and I doubt that he will spill a lot." the Leader sighed, and shot a warning glare to the agitated Akatsuki members.

There was more silence that only aggravated some of the members. Zetsu and Tobi vanished as well, to go brood in their separate corners. Hidan and Kakuzu, who were muttering, brushed past Hinata and the Leader, upset that there was no fight. Hidan let his gaze wander to Hinata who narrowed her eyes.

He smirked.

Deidara and Sasori risked glares at the Leader and Sasori came out of his puppet. The Leader rested at cold hand on Hinata's shoulder.

"I do, however, have a new mission for you."

------------------

Thank you.


	11. Pulse

SweetStealer: Wow, shot chapter. Don't shoot me. DUCK THE FLYING TOMATOES!

Notes://...there are none.

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Chapter 11: Pulse

Hinata could only stare blankly at the Leader. She couldn't believe it was only her first month there and she had already been poisoned, fought over, and beat a well-trained opponent. Now, as she stood in the middle of the living room with Itachi, she could only wonder in complete bewilderment how on earth she was going to survive this.

"You beat Kimimaru, correct?" the Leader questioned, coldly.

Hinata nodded respectfully. Itachi stood next to her, stiff and silent as the grave.

"Do you understand your mission?"

"Hai, Leader-sama."

The Leader paused in his questioning and glanced at Itachi.

"Let me see you change you eyes." the Leader ordered, his gaze turning back to her and piercing her heart.

"A-a henge?" she whispered, forming a hand seal.

Itachi nodded and Hinata tried vainly to remember from her former studies how to do that. She shut her eyes and hoped for the best.

When she reopened them, the two were expressionless. Hinata shivered slightly under the cold stares and was surprised when Itachi nodded his head. With a malicious smile, the Leader said,

"She will do."

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Hinata was Sasori's chinadoll. The mission...it depended all on the girl. Sasori was silent as he worked, but his eyes played upon the young girl's features. There was no doubt...she was indeed lovely. She would make a perfect bride for the Kage of the Village Hidden in the Grass. Yes, she would pass the test.

However, there was a tiny catch.

She would pass, Itachi had told her, if she would kill the Kage with her own hands.

"Ah, Hinata-hime." Sasori murmured as he painted her face white. "Your face will match your eyes."

Hinata was silent and perfectly still. Sasori worked on her, the small oil lamp that hung next to him flickering with an ominous light. He was used to making his art beautiful and he intended to help Hinata. Deidara was slightly put out, but acknowledged that Sasori would probably be better for the job.

Sasori marveled at Hinata.

Her hands, her skin...lily white. Pale and still, her body so fragile...like glass. She was barely breathing. How was it, he marveled, that she could stand so still? Was it the last remnants of her old life? He had forgotten that she probably had gone through this every special occasion at the Hyuuga household.

And another thing Sasori was impressed with, if this had happened a few weeks ago...she would be dead from fright...or be backing out. This showed maturity and growth within their dark lair.

Maybe it was because she began to understand what they were all risking for her. Maybe it was because the incident with Orochimaru had hardened her heart. Maybe it was because she didn't really give a damn anymore.

Either way, it pleased them all.

Sasori knew Deidara could have easily fulfilled the position for assassinating the Kage, but there was another underlying story. The Leader wanted Hinata to prove that she was worthy of being here. But Sasori questioned this motive,

_But what is 'worth' in this world?_

Sasori worked on her lips. Red. A bright, lethal shade, that could be interpreted differently by the eye.

Red: passion, lust, love.

Red: death, hate, blood.

He painted her...soft, even strokes. She did not flinch. She did not move. As the empty porcelain doll she was, she did nothing. Hinata was contemplating her mission.

She could die. If she wished.

She could fail. If she wished.

But she could also succeed. Again, if she wished.

"Angel. Your robe."

She slowly turned, her eyes empty. Sasori smiled. He knew she was learning fast. Her emotions were being retained somewhere deep within her soul. She had already had discipline, silence, and the will to learn. What else could they ask for in an apprentice?

She was better then Tobi or Deidara put together, in terms of silence and obedience. However, Tobi and Deidara, though loud and arrogant as they were, could kill on a dime without even thinking about it. Sasori watched her, his eyes equally indifferent.

Hinata obediently slipped out of her usual garments while the puppeteer prepared her presentation outfit, averting his eyes. She stood before him, naked and cold, but always silent. Sasori looked her up and down, critically. Thin, pale and beautiful. Yes, she would do.

"Here."

He handed her a long, flowing kimono. There was no white. No other color to complement the red of the garment. It was silk and thin linen.

She delicately put the clothing on, unashamed of her exposure. She had no need for shame, because she didn't care anymore. Her life revolved around the mission. That and nothing else. Sasori, amazed, let the smile slide off his face as he put on the finishing touch.

Her hair, longer then when she came, was brushed until it shone. Sasori then gently put it up, stuck two sharp senbon needles in, disguised as bright glass hair ornaments, and finally held up a mirror. Hinata looked at him and then at the mirror. The artist looked down at her and whispered in her ear,

"You are beautiful, Hime."

Hinata blinked, forcing down a half-hearted sob. Sasori, surprised, went around her and knelt in front of her, taking her hands in his. Hinata felt the coldness and roughness of an artist's hands. She bit her red lips and felt the tears slipping out. She looked away, finally ashamed. She was doing so well...what a time to break down and freak out.

"Hinata, Hinata...Angel..." Sasori said soothingly. "You'll mess up your makeup. I worked hard on it!"

Hinata gave a raspy cry and shut her white eyes. Sasori stroked her face worriedly, hoping she would pull it together just enough so that she could kill the Kage or at least get it.

The door opened abruptly and Itachi and Deidara walked in. The Uchiha's eyes flickered and Deidara snorted.

"Good job, Sasori. She's too subtle for me." he laughed, sarcastically.

"She's wearing red. You call red subtle?" Sasori hissed, re-applying Hinata's dark mascara, letting his hands slid from her face, ignoring Itachi's possessive glare.

Deidara thought for a few seconds and finally swooped down upon the startled girl who gave a small squeak from shock and whispered,

"You are still an angel, Hinata."

Itachi, speechless, could only stare. Hinata had changed from a young, innocent girl, to what could be considered _a woman. _Not that he could tell...but she had definitely changed. For the better.

He bit his lips and looked away. Sasori noticed this and narrowed his eyes. There was no use in lowering the girl's self-esteem anymore. He didn't want another crying episode.

"Itachi-san. Is she not lovely?"

Hinata slowly raised her eyes to meet Itachi's black orbs as Deidara stepped back to his place. Itachi noted, with some despair, that she was empty. Why did she have to end up like them? There was no reward in this life for him...Why did she want to be with them? He did not want this to be her fate...

Deidara noticed his partner's silence and nudged him, with a smirk.

"Pedophi-" he began to his but found his words stuck as Itachi had a kunai suddenly against his throat.

Sasori smirked and put his hand on the silent girl's shoulder. Her tears were gone, her determination returned and her eyes once again empty. Itachi nodded, his approving gaze never leaving Hinata's pink tinged face.

"She's ready."

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Sweets: Yeah, yeah, short chapter I know. Chill out. Reviews are love!


	12. Cold Blood

SweetStealer: Oh I'm so sorry for the wait. I tried to make this chapter long to make up for it, and I hope you like it! Since my inspiration left me for a while I've been dead.

IM SO SORRY.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did, Hinata would get more air time. Deff.

Notes:// Flash continues. Oh. If anyone is confused between this time and the time Angel of Mine took place, she'll be with the Akatsuki for two years...give or take.

**Edit: This chapter has been reposted without the spelling mistakes. Hopefully it's a little better. The first time was terrible, and I'm sorry. God, I need to spell check better. -sweatdrop-**

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Chapter 12: Cold Blood

Hinata could barely breathe as she fought her way through the tangle of branches and leaves, gasping for oxygen. The smoke was so thick she couldn't see past her hand. Coughing, she dashed through the smog, her body screaming for rest.

Fire burned through the Village Hidden in the Rock. Children shrieked as they were snatched up from their mothers, while the women screamed in the night. They were running. Sparks flashed around her.

'Deidara's burning the village.' she thought as she pushed past a man, whose blood painted her cheek.

Darts were flying all around her, courtesy of Sasori and his puppets, beginning a massacre of corpses. He would get his fresh puppets from this lot. They were a beautiful bunch of villagers...especially the children. So fresh and smooth...untainted.

'Itachi should be waiting for me at the Palace.' she remembered and made a sharp, unexpected turn into a dark ally.

She let her mouth drop as she saw Kakuzu and Hidan execute several people, as was custom for them in annihilating a Village. She prayed for their damned souls, but not too much. She had her own troubles to worry about.

Her eyes widened as she past Zetsu feeding on a child's body, blood painting his split face. He glanced up at her and crooned,

"Have some flesh, Angel...it's so tender."

She saw Tobi cringe and face the other ways so he wouldn't have to witness the gruesome display of cannibalism.

The girl ran on.

Hinata stumbled her way until she reached the burning palace of the Tsuchikage. She stared up at it, feeling the heat burning through her body.

She moved.

Running up the steps, dashing from wall to wall as stairs were a hassel, her heart pounded. The night wind fed the ever hungry fire as she slipped through the shadows. The building was quiet, besides flames licking the lower levels. Her breathing echoed around the halls.

Finally, she burst into the main office. She skid to a stop, as her green eyes surveyed the landscape. Green...she quickly made her eyes fade into white.

"Ah...Haru-hime. You...you were the cause of this?"

She looked upwards, where she caught the eyes of a man, young, debonair, and handsome, hanging upside down from the painted ceiling. His black hair fell into his liquid obsidian eyes and his black garments were laced with green.

"My name isn't Haruhi." Hinata whispered, her eyes empty.

_Where is Itachi?_

"Ah...then what should I call a girl so beautiful...one who could have been my future wife?" he laughed quietly.

She flashed a kunai and he did a clean back flip and landed neatly in front of her. She stared back impassively and finally hissed out angrily,

"Why would a dead man need to know?"

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_-That Morning-_

"So, the plan is-" Sasori began in a monotone voice, but was abruptly cut off by a galled Deidara.

"Screw the fucking plan, yeah. Angel goes in and out, pretending to be an eligible bride for the Tsuchikage and then she kills him. Simple, yeah." the bitter clay worker spat out.

"There's more to it then that, you idiot." Sasori hissed back. "This is why we fail missions." he added, his tone beginning to escalate into an arguement.

Lately, the two had been going at it more and more, causing mayhem and chaos in the lair. Minor explosions had led to half of the living room beind charred to bits and a hallways out of use until the rubble could be removed from the passageway. Sasori contributed to the wreckage by sending an ill-aimed poison needle into Kisame's shoulder.

Now Hinata, who was listening to them bicker inside the tent, rolled her eyes and wished they would cut it out. Their bad moods put everyone else in bad moods, unless you were unpermable to all that was depressing like Tobi. Hinata shivered...he looked innocent, and maybe even a ditz, but his killing techiniques and jutsus were nothing short of _spectacular._

Figiting a little, Hinata struggled to get air into the tent that was being upheld by the four Akatsuki members all in disguise. She had memorized each one, devoting herself to learning their faces if she had ever need to call upon them.

Itachi was turned into a handsome seventeen year old. His dark hair was cut short, and his eyes were a dark green, almost black. The lines on his face disappeared and his face was kept hidden by a hooded cloak. He wouldn't talk, only listen and snarl at Kisame who would shoot back blunt comments.

Sasori stuck his now brunette head in. His eyes were a cloudy azure blue, and his features were darkened. Dark sleepy rings hung around his eyes from the lack of sleep. He shifted and looked at Hinata who stared back at him curiously.

"Relax, we're almost there. And don't smudge your makeup." he snapped, as he withdrew his head, irritable at his blunt and ignorant partner.

"I won't." she said, forcefully, shooting a glare at the yellow curtain laced with red.

Kakuzu nearly had a fit when he tallied the expenses for the mission. Hinata's garments, the weaponry, the transportation...it had cut deeply into their accounts. However, if they could just take over this village, all their money would be restored and with extra put in.

Kisame snorted from the front. His dark blue hair was contrasting against his burnt tan skin. His black eyes darted, while ignoring his commrade's snide glares and the arrogant comments of Deidara and the snappy replies of Sasori. He looked more human then ever.

"We're almost there." Itachi broke in irritably, cutting off a very rude remark from the Pyromaniac.

Deidara huffed haughtily and turned to face foreward, ignoring his sempai who was right behind him. His green hair and pale complexion were set off by blue eyes. He was colorful indeed, much to the annoyance of others. He reasoned, the more you stick out the less likely you will be noticed.

Kisame said that was bullshit.

Tension was already building and Itachi feared that this would ruin the plan. Deidara and Sasori's notorious relationship was known to help them fail their missions. He would not let them ruin this one, besides, if Hinata didn't play her part well, she'd be executed on the spot.

No, the couldn't mess this one up.

...Not that they'd grown attached to Hinata or anything. It would just look bad on their records and to the Leader-sama.

Ah, sweet denial.

Kisame, who was stationed behind Itachi, sent a meaningful look to Sasori that said clearly, 'if-you-don't-shut-your-partner-up-i-will-**for**-**good**.' The puppeteer took the hint and kicked Deidara in the calf.

"We're here."

Hinata glanced up from her many cushions and blankets and peeked out the curtain. Surprisingly, it looked a lot like Konoha. It had the Tsuchikage's Palace in the center and the whole ways was lined with shops, stores and houses.

Suddenly, something caught her eyes.

There was a flash of blonde hair, followed by a whisk of indigo locks. She looked back sharply as clouded memories of the torturous past began to flood her mind.

Her green eyes widened and she cried out,

"Naruto-kun!"

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The girl scrambled around the tent, craning her neck to get a better look at the two children when she painfully kicked Deidara in the back of the head.

As Deidara finally tripped, sending the tent flying, onto the ground, Hinata felt two small bodies squirming under the yellow curtains and she crawled out, glaring at Deidara who looked back, annoyed. She lifted the tent folds and found them, a small blonde haired boy and a timid looking violet haired girl.

They stared at each other for a few minutes before the girl whispered breathlessly,

"You're so beautiful!"

"Are you here to become the Tsuchikage's bride?!" the boy bounced up excitedly, pulling the girl up with him.

Hinata observed the two. They seemed closer then she and Naruto had ever been and she became slightly jealous.

_But Naruto isn't here anymore._

She smiled at them and said softly,

"Hai, I have."

The girl clapped her hands and the boy squealed in delight. His blue eyes lit up and he said ernestly as little kids do,

"He's sure to pick you! One day, I'm going to become Hokage and marry someone as beautiful as you!"

Hinata gasped at the words and observed the tiny girl. The girl was blushing and looking a little upset, and Hinata felt very empathic towards her. Still, the tinge of jealousy was present.

She turned her gaze towards the Naruto look alike. Her heart ached a little as she thought of his self proclaimed 'Next-Hokage!' outbursts, the Academy days, the ramen coupons and handmade card she had made him for his tenth birthday.

Sunlight burst into Hinata's mind as she let herself be carried from the shadows, even if it was for a moment. It was gone now, replaced by disappointment and sadness.

"You're so much like him..." she whispered, almost foolishly.

The boy raised an eyebrow.

"Like who?"

"HARUHI-SAMA!"

It was Deidara. He decided to give Hinata the name of Haruhi, and in doing so, earned a glare from Hinata. Itachi jogged up, and held out his hand to her. She took it, and let him dust her off like the good servant he was.

"N-Naruto." she whispered, almost like her old self as Itachi walked her away from the confused children.

"Don't talk." Itachi ordered, and helped her climb back into the carriage.

She kept her head in the rest of the way to the palace.

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As Hinata stared blankly at the Kage's mansion, she couldn't help but scoff at the decoration lining the walls and the rich, plush carpets on the floor. She removed her shoes and left them with Kisame and Deidara who were staying with the tent.

She gave a skeptical, almost disgusted look at a portrait of a young, handsome man who was richly dressed, looking out over the Village. She cocked her head and observed him. By his dress and manner in the picture, this was probably the most recent Kage, as the paint still smelled fresh. Hinata blinked as Itachi tapped her in the back of the head and said,

"He's ready for you."

She nodded curtly and walked through a rounded archway that was veiled with thick green curtains. She shifted uncomfortably in her kimono and glared at Sasori as he lightly kicked the back of her foot.

Bowing gracefully, she dared to raise her eyes to the man in front of her. Hinata suppressed as light gasp. The portrait had not done this man justice in terms of being handsome. His thick, black hair hung lazily in his eyes of the deepest black that rivaled even Sasuke's.

That is, the Sasuke she remember.

_Bastard._

The man got up hurridely as he watched the beauty in front of him bow. He rushed to her and knelt down before her, his hand outstretched. Hinata looked up, and under her polite yet puzzled stare was the mockery and sting of pure unrivaled hatred.

"My name, my lady, is Yomado Takeshi. I am the Tsuchikage of the Village Hidden in the Grass. I newly appointed last winter."

For the corner, Hinata could see Deidara roll his eyes and it took all of Kisame's willpower to stop himself from letting out a loud snicker. Was this guy old fashioned or what?

"No, Takeshi-sama, I've only come here to see if I am eligible to be your bride. My name is Takeda Haruhi, daughter of a merchant." she said quietly, keeping her eyes on the floor.

The man beamed at her and helped her up.

"She is my favorite so far." he announced, a little loudly.

Mutely, Hinata thought that this man...the supposed best ninja in all of the Grass Village...was a joke. He was talking about her like she was some prized horse to be paraded around so everyone could see he had good taste.

"You will dine with me tonight, my Haruhi." he said, grandly, motioning for her to get ready.

Wordlessly, with a graceful bow, Hinata exited, and allowed herself to be escorted out by Kisame who was shaking with surpressed laughter that looked like he was coughing.

The mission felt like a joke to her.

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The quarters Hinata was given was nothing short of beautiful. It was larger then any room in her old Hyuuga compound, and it was certainly larger then the humble lair of the Akatsuki. The air was fresh and light, with high windows that let in the sun. A feather bed was in the back center of the room, with curtain drawn around it. A vanity table was place in front of her with a large mirror.

Hinata set down her weapons disguised as baggages of makeup and kimonos. Itachi had stationed Sasori and Kisame outside the double door of her bedroom. Deidara would be incharge of the outside balcony and windows. Itachi himself would be in the room visible to her.

Going around so he was behind her, Itachi hissed into her ear,

"It will happen tonight. At dinner the candles will blow out and the power supply cut off. That fool will tell you to go back to your room. One of use will escort you back here. If we aren't there, go back here alone, change and find the Tsuchikage."

"What if you are there?" she asked, puzzled as to why she could be alone.

"We will only be there if the Tsuchikage hasn't left the building. The main power supply is down the road a ways. If he has left by the time you are up here, find him, and kill him." Itachi said in his monotone voice.

_My first kill._

"I've taught you what you need. The others will join us later to help take down this pathetic excuse for a village. I myself will meet you near where the Tsuchikage is, if you can't complete the task, I will do it for you." he said, his eyes flickering away from hers.

Hinata looked down, ashamed.

"You don't expect me to finish?" she asked, crestfallen.

Itachi looked back at her, his eyes burning holes into her head. She broke his gaze.

"I do, but if you need help I'll be there." he lied, easily.

Hinata looked down. She knew. They all knew. It had been a wordless expectation.

_No, I do not expect you to live._

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Dinner was elegant.

Dressed in a long, flowing kimono of red and gold, Hinata nervously bit into her meat in small, anxious bites. The man across from her kept on praising her! How daintily she ate! How cultured she was! Her beauty was astounding!

Hinata scoffed inwardly at his comments but graciously accepted them all the same.

"You are too kind, Takeshi-sama." Hinata said, smiling softly at the man in front of her.

"You, Haru-chan, are truely a wonderful girl. I used to think people like you were...a little odd, but I can see now that you are really kind." he grinned.

Hinata jolted. Before the Chuunin exams, hadn't Naruto said something like that to her?

_Naruto..._

Suddenly, the candles went out.

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_-Returning-_

"Byakugan."

Hinata charged, sweat dripping down her nose and into her eyes, stinging them as she rushed at the man in front of her, whose battle hardened eyes lingered on her white ones. With an enraged cry, she swiped viciously, trying to tear at skin.

She could feel herself excelling. Her speed had increased enormously with Itachi's training and skill. Her blows had been more accurate then they would usually be in a battle, and she managed to finally hit one of Deidara's chakra points during a spar a few weeks ago. It wasn't much, and in the end she had lost, but it was an achievement.

Now, she pushed herself. Was it the hope of praise of the others that had driven her to a crazed madness when she fought her adversary? Or was it the threat of death hanging over her head? She never sought hard enough to find out.

She could feel Takeshi going easy on her, in hopes she would back down and leave.

_Was he really in love with me?_

Hinata, a usual Juuken user, had surprisingly excelled in the more formal ninja arts; taijutsu and ninjutsu had been her specialty...so why did it take her so long to even make progress in the Juuken?

As she ducked the man's aggressive blows, she saved her energy for her more lethal attacks. This was just to wear him down a bit. She could see the chakra fleeing his body rapidly and the two finally broke apart to breathe.

"Hyuuga." Takeshi said abruptly.

Hinata looked up, startled. Her eyes lingered on his, hiding her disbelief well. Takeshi began to speak.

"You're Hinata Hyuuga. From Kohona. Tsunade had sent out messages to all of the rulers of-"

He was suddenly cut short when he found a shuriken lodged in his shoulder. Hinata stared at him impassively.

In a flash she charged, her eyes blazing. Her fingertips found all of his chakra points, her heart unleashed her hatred for her village and the people in it. There would be no huge battle. This was it.

60 seconds later the man fell to his knees, and then fell backwards, dead.

Hinata stared at the body. Horrified with herself, she backed away, staring at a man who was once breathing not even three minutes earlier. Who was she to play God and take a life? Who was she to actually strip a human being of the one thing they can truly own?

She had taken life.

Suddenly, she hardened up again as she felt Itachi's presence in the room. She turned, and watched him. He look mildly surprised, but pleased. Well, as pleased as he could show. He nodded in approval.

"The greatest warriors fall by the tongue."

Hinata nodded respectfully and left through the smoke, tearing her eyes away from the body.

Back into the fire.

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More notes:// The Tsuchikage is the leader of the Village Hidden in the Rock. I've changed the Village. It used to be Village in the Grass. Thanks to everyone who helped point out the mistakes!

Reviews are love.

Peace.


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